For the Love of a Daughter
by Laania
Summary: No one predicted the world to end but, movie star Jason Knight would do anything to save his daughter, Hailey. He meets the group on the way, finding who he truly is now in this apocalyptic world and realizing the first thing he never wanted to be was what he was always meant to be: a father. CHAPTER TWELVE IS UP!
1. Chapter One

**Author's Note: I love The Walking Dead and all the characters. It's an amazing comic and an awesome television show. More importantly, I cannot wait for season three to start. READ AND REVIEW and tell me if you loved it or hated it.**

**Disclosure: Blah, blah, blah... I don't own The Walking Dead... Blah, blah, blah...**

**Chapter One**

No one ever told me how hard it would be having to take care of a child. I didn't know the responsibility that was to come with the territory of being a parent but, I knew that it was supposed to change you, to make you feel compassionate about saving their life in any form of danger. I couldn't place where the feelings had started but, they were real now. Caring for a child is the most rewarding gift and accident of all; and having that love that they give so freely without ever questioning it couldn't be described more as pure bliss. I wanted to show my child all the things I had done for her but, time was flying out of my hands and soon, she'd be walking and running away from the things that now inhabit this new world of ours. She wouldn't grow up in a world that I had, she wouldn't get to see great rock bands in concert and she wouldn't get to see her face in a mirror with her make-up covering her counter tops in her bathroom. This world we live in now could only be described as Hell and not an exaggerated version of Hell but, true Hell in its most evil of forms. Fires were appearing everywhere throughout the city and it was my duty to get my child to safety, whether my life was spared or not. I couldn't let her be taken, I couldn't watch as she became one of them.

I begged to see what true paradise lay behind the Hell we came into living. No movie or book or video game could have prepared us for this and no matter how many times I thought of ways to achieve that perfect safe haven, it was taken away in an instant and in that instant of having your safety be taken away, there's something primal that begins to rip through you. Your heart drops in the very pit of your stomach as you watch the danger stalk towards you. It was the hunter and the prey and the prey were fighting back. The hunter wasn't as smart as the prey, on no, they were what we call 'blanks', empty shells still trying to make a move. The prey circled the hunter as it watched the other's movements, feeling where it should hit and how to stay away from becoming one of them. It didn't take long to figure out that smashing it's brains of the 'operation' was the only way to save yourself, even if the brain happened to be living.

I couldn't fight the urge to cry with her against my chest, feeling her body shake as I ran away, far away and didn't stop until I knew my legs were going to catch on fire. Her incoherent sobs frightened me but, I dare not look back. I just place my hand on her head and concentrate on running and hoping the hunter would finally wean off of this prey.

No one ever told me how hard it would be having to take care of a child. No one ever told me how hard it would be when the world went to Hell. No one told me that a mother could abandon her child and leave her to die within the burning apartment building of Atlanta, Georgia. No one told me that rush of being a savior would come with such a high risk. I had to save my child whether I wanted to or not.

…

I relaxed against the thick bark of a tree, watching as she walked slowly in front of me, her most cherished doll in her tightest grip. Her thumb was in her mouth and she sucked on it with vigor as she looked at the ground and at her shoes. I knew they would become too small for her soon and finding another pair now was something short of a miracle.

"Daddy," she whispered, having learned that whispering was the only acceptable way of speaking.

"Yes?" I answered, my eyes closed as the humidity tried breaking my body down into nothing.

"I've got to go potty."

I brought my head up and was she began doing her traditional 'potty dance' for me. I nodded and pushed myself up and of the tree, pulling her up into my arms. I felt her legs curl around my waist as we walked a few minutes to a near-by creek bed. I placed her down at the base of a tree, my attention turned to the creek bed where I had found a Blank crawling though the muddy sides. I kept watch as I heard a trickle sound and duly noted that my daughter did not care if anyone was watching her go. If she had to go, you'd better turn your head.

I looked to her as she shook her bottom and pulled her dirty white panties up then pulled her dirt-covered pink dress down. She grabbed her doll and walked over to me where I led her down to the creek bed so that she could wash up her hands.

A sudden crack in the forest we were just in pulled us out of our routine and I quickly pulled my daughter to my chest, placing my large hand on her head to assure her it would all be okay.

"I need you to 'shh', okay?" I asked her, looking down into her large blue eyes and watched as she pulled a little finger to her little pink lips. "Good girl," I whispered as I walked into the water, stepping carefully through the stream as I heard the first sign of a Blank.

A moan sounded behind me, far enough away so that I could put my daughter down and grab hold of the hunting knife that hung on my belt. I placed her down and she covered her ears and closed her eyes, following my instructions the first time I had ever told her to do so. I turned back to the Blank that was beginning its slow run towards us, its teeth gnarling at the air, its milky yellow/white eyes were watching nothing as it kept coming towards us.

I ran at it, the hunting knife having thrust its way up through the skull of the Blank. Its moans were silenced and its arms fell to its sides. The Blank hung there on the knife until I pulled it out, letting it fall into the shallow water. I wiped the spoiled blood-covered knife on whatever clothing it had on and sheathed the knife. I ran towards my little girl as she began to rock back and forth, her whimpers soon would turn into cries if I didn't do something.

I touched her hands and her eyes shot open to look up at me and with a sense of relief, she stood up and wrapped her arms around my neck, refusing to let go. I stood with her attached to me like a leech and kept to the stream. I rubbed her back and soon, she fell asleep against my neck. I kept walking the creek bed until it dried out, leaving only a hallowed out ditch that weaved its way through trees and brush. I stepped over a fallen tree, holding onto her body so I wouldn't disturb her sleep she rarely achieved.

I looked up into the sun of a very hot day in Georgia and I begged God, or what ever was up there laughing down at us, to send me some help, a sign, anything to get my little girl to safety. As soon as I said that, a crowd of moans broke me from my so-called 'praying' and brought me to my stomach, waking my daughter up quickly.

"Daddy?"

"Shh," I pressed my finger against his lips, indicating the need to stay absolutely quiet. She nodded and pressed her finger to her lips, closing her eyes and I held her head against my chest, running towards, running towards a hill and lying against it, hoping the herd hadn't seen or heard the two of us.

I looked up through the tall weeds we lay in and the countless Blanks weaved through way through a mess of cars on the freeway that was only twenty feet away. Their moans and growls were something out of a comic book but, this comic book couldn't describe the terror they caused. My lip trembled as I kept my daughter pressed into my chest as hard as I could, shielding her away from the evil that walked by us.

Just as I saw the last one pass by, I released a bit of my grip from her and looked up a little more only to be stricken with a small scream. I looked down to my daughter who still had her finger pressed against her lips and realized…

"Survivors." I held onto her small body as tightly as I could and ran up the small hill the freeway ran over and jumped across the wooden and metal guardrail. I tucked myself behind a car as I heard people calling out and a soft cry permeate the air around the two of us.

"Daddy!" She looked up at me, her blue eyes now looking away from me and up behind me. I spun around and saw a silent Blank having gotten close to us. I dropped her quickly and pulled the knife out as fast as I could, ramming the large blade into the eye of the Blank, watching it fall backwards and into the back of a flipped over car.

Something pushed against me, making me trip and fall on top of my daughter; only my hands and knees stopped me from crushing my daughter with the falling weight. I spun my head around quickly, watching two Blanks follow a little girl who jumped over the guardrail we had just crossed, keeping silent as they tracked the screaming young girl.

I pushed myself up and grabbed my daughter, jumping over the lifeless corpse that I had killed and ran through the jungle of cars I had just crossed and watched as the girl ran through the brush. I sheathed my knife and picked up my daughter against my chest, watching the little girl scream and the two Blanks following her.

"We got another one!" I heard behind me.

I was just about to turn around when a sharp pain soared through my arm; the burning sensations made me scream, dropping my daughter as I grabbed onto my arm. I looked down; blood covering my hand and quickly falling down my left arm. The feeling of my arm being ripped open was an understatement; I felt the hot burn getting worse as I sucked in a huge breath.

"God damn it!" I screamed, dropping to my knees as I screamed out.

"Daddy!" She screamed, running to me and grabbing onto my shoulder, shaking it as I sucked in deep breaths to help with the pain while my daughter's pale blonde hair flew into my face.

The sound of a gun cocking behind me silenced me and my daughter. She was sobbing silently as she stared to the person behind me, her lips quivering as her big blue eyes were locked on to the threat. I reached my arm out for her, trying to grab her and pull her in front of me, trying to keep her safe.

"Don't fuckin' touch her." A rough southern drawl came from behind me.

"Daddy?" Her voice was laced with sobs as she cried out again, her tears running down her face as she tried running towards me. Two hands grabbed a hold of her, pulling her away from me. "DADDY!" She screamed, kicking and screaming as a tall woman with long brown hair pulled her away from me, taking her away.

"Give me back my daughter! Hailey!" I screamed, trying to jump up but a boot crushing into my back, slamming me down into the asphalt under us. My cheek fell hard and the tiny, hard rocks were cutting into me as I struggled to get out from under the heavy boot that was holding me down. "Hailey!"

"Shut up! Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?" Another southern voice shouted, this time though, a pair of boots coming into view where that fucking woman took her away.

"I'm just trying to survive! Give me back my daughter!" I shouted, my eyes seeing red as the only thing I could see were his boots and his knees.

"How do we know you weren't bit?" He asked his voice stern as if he had authority.

"Because some guy cut me with a knife! He ran after that girl who ran through the woods now, get off of me!" I shouted, trying to push myself up only to succeed in being pushed down again.

"Why were you followin' us?" The first southern and rough voice asked.

"I wasn't following you; I'm just trying to find other survivors!" I screamed back at them, finally getting enough pressure to push the boot off of me and flipping over onto my ass, jumping up and grabbing the sheathed knife, holding onto the handle with all my might, staring down the two men who were questioning me.

A guy around my age held a hand gun up, his thick black hair soaked in sweat from the hot Georgia heat. I looked to the other man who stood with a crossbow aimed directly at me; his eyes squinted as he took in his target: me.

"Give me back my daughter." I said, my face contorted and twisted with anger I had never felt before.

"Why should we? For all we know you could have stolen her and do who knows what, you bastard."

"Are you rapin' her, you sick fuck?"

I growled, my body shaking as I looked towards the ground as I tried holding back from ripping them apart. How dare they accuse me of even _thinking_ about hurting my own child? That was my baby, my child who I saved and then risked my life for months to care for, to protect in this apocalyptic world.

"How dare you," I spat out, dropping my hand from my knife and walking away from them and towards the woman who took my child.

"You better quit walkin' or I'll shoot." The one with the hand gun said, his head cocking to the side as if he were intimidating.

"Do it but, I'm getting my child." I snapped back, walking through the sea of cars towards an RV with a grouping of women and a couple of men around it. I held onto my arm, feeling the blood still seeping out of the still fresh knife wound. I listened as the two men were arguing, most likely about me but, I could only hope they find that girl that ran off.

As I neared the old yellow and dated RV, I grabbed onto the ladder that was bolted to the back of the RV and heard the gasps of the women as I appeared.

"Listen here, you man," an older man started to say, his rifle fitting rough into his hands. His fishing cap was dirty and I went silent as I ignored everything he said, searching behind him to find Hailey. "Have you been listening to anything I said?" He finally asked, reaching for my attention and finally able to grasp it.

"Yeah, I'm listening." I said sharply, eyeing him as he stiffened, watching as I took in deep and staggered breaths.

"No, you haven't. Look, you're hurt; let us help you." He said, passing the rifle off to a short blonde woman who just kept watching me with those blue/green eyes like she wanted to say something, reach out and touch me.

I shook my head and sucked in another hard breath as the pain radiated through the wound, making me hold onto it a lot harder than I ever thought was possible. The more I hurt, the more I grabbed and the more I grabbed, the more it hurt. It was a lose/lose situation. As I turned my head back to the older man and the blonde woman, I swallowed my pride and nodded.

"Please, just give me back my daugh…" I swayed, feeling light headed as I reached for the edge of the RV, only to see my hand stretched out in front of me, reaching for the ladder that was slowly falling away.

…

"Hey, hey, are you alright?" A woman's voice echoed in my head and it felt like she was just screaming into my ear. I wanted to push her away, whatever it was away. I stretched my hand and felt the hair from her head; it was completely greasy and I swallowed, trying to open my eyes and finding the Georgia sun was a demonic son of a bitch.

I grinded my teeth as I finally forced myself to open my eyes, her face now in front of the sun, eclipsing it as she saw me struggling.

"Hey, are you alright?" She asked again, her voice now velvet compared to the harpy voice from before. I opened my eyes all the way now, looking up into her face as she smiled back down at me, her blue/green eyes shining brightly as I shook my head and pushed myself, my free hand rubbing my head as I nodded and accepted that yes, I did pass out and probably looked like a fool.

"I'm fine." I was able to get out, my throat coarse as I spoke. I looked to my left arm, seeing the blood having started to coagulate and the blood dry all around it. I began to stand up, only to have this woman grab onto my right arm, knowing the pain from my left.

"It looks like you passed out." The older man said as he neared me and helped grab my other arm gently, realizing why the blonde woman grabbed my right arm. "Come on over here and I'll have Andrea fix you right up." He said, giving a very strained smile.

I nodded, following the path they led me down and up into the RV where all I heard was a tiny squeal and felt the thud that came with the small scream and felt two arms wrap around my legs, a grip tighter than any clamp in this world couldn't compare to her hugs. I shook my arms free from Andrea and the old man and reached down, pulling her up with my right arm and with the strength I never knew I had, I perched her against my side, pulling her into me as I soaked into her warmth.

She cried against my chest, her tears soaking my dirty and sweaty shirt as my hot breath soaked her hair. "I'm sorry, Hailey. I promise I'll protect you better."

"Okay, Daddy."

…

"So, where are you from?" The older man had asked. He had introduced himself as Dale as he sat me down at the table within the RV for Andrea to start patching up the wound.

I watched as Andrea kept her eyes completely focused at the task at hand, her fingers very steady as she cleaned the cut well and proceeded with stitching it. "I'm from Los Angeles." I said as I continued to watch her. I turned my attention back to Dale for the respect of conversation. Hailey was playing with a young boy who I had been told was named Carl.

"What are you doing all the way out here in Georgia?" Dale had asked, intrigued with this new discovery.

I looked away from them, turning my attention back to the happy laughing in the bedroom of the RV where my daughter was.

"Ah, your little girl, I understand. How was it that she was here?" Dale asked, his dark eyes scanning me as he interrogated me.

"Her mother." I cut it short, looking out the window of the RV and staring into the forest Hailey and I had been in almost an hour ago.

"A sensitive subject, huh?" He asked as if he were all knowing.

"Just a bit." I nodded and then looked back to Dale, giving him a knowing look which he took respectively.

"I never caught your name." Andrea spoke up, her fingers pulling the needle and thread through my skin.

I nodded and chuckled a tad, shaking my head as I contemplated whether I should let them know or not. I had no idea who these people were. What did they want from us? Were they going to kill us like savages or hold us ransom like an old civilization? No, that only happened in the movies and I knew a whole lot about that.

I sighed and looked back out the window as I watched the edge of the forest for anymore Blanks that may have become stranded from the herd. "My name is Jason, Jason Knight."

Andrea stopped sewing and looked up at me. "Oh, my god. You're _the_ Jason Knight?" She looked like she was about to faint and I realized at that moment, maybe I should have gone with a different name, perhaps my real name instead of the screen name.

"Yeah, that's me."

"Wow, hold on. I have to go tell Lori and Carol!" She smiled and jumped up, running out of the RV and yelling something incoherent to the women who were still outside.

"I have no idea what they're talking about." Dale whispered, leaning towards me as he shook his head, trying to make sense of why Andrea became a lunatic in just two seconds.

"Come on, come on!" Andrea shouted as she charged up the steps of the RV and ran towards Dale and me. I pushed myself as far as I could backwards so that I could give myself just a little bit of room to breathe.

"No way, I thought I recognized him when I saw him!" The woman with the long brown hair that had taken Hailey said.

"Oh, he is even much cuter in person. Ed never let me watch his movies alone and now I know why." The shortest of the three women said. Her hair was cut short and was salt and pepper in colour; she could have used a definitely colouring but, she had that natural beauty most women would kill to achieve.

"Ladies, why are you bothering this poor man? You're acting as if he were a movie star." Dale laughed, looking back at me so that I would join in laughing about his joke. When I never returned the laugh or even gave a hint of a smile, his face lost its composure and he nodded. "I guess the jokes on me then. How come you never told us?"

"It doesn't matter anymore. We're only humans now, either trying to survive or become one of them." I looked out of the window again, nodding and having accepted the world as it was. "We must survive, whether we want to or not."

The three women continued to look at me with glitter and hopes in their eyes. Lori and Andrea smiled and Carol held her hands against her chest, her eyes tearing up.

"He's even more amazing when he speaks. It's so… glorious!" Lori whispered to Andrea, not minding her volume.

I looked to Dale and at the same time, we sighed and rolled our eyes. I looked down to the almost complete stitching of my arm then looked to Dale again. Dale took the hint and nodded, looking to the women and giving them a smile. "Ladies, why don't you give him some room, hmm? He's been through a lot recently and with all this heat of the Georgia sun, it's amazing he hadn't passed out from heat stroke."

Lori nodded and Andrea sighed, reaching for my arm.

"I'll take care of that, Andrea. Why don't you go with Carol and Lori and see if they've found Sophia yet?" Dale asked, more than motioning for them to leave.

As Dale ushered them out, he chuckled, shaking his head as he did so. "I can't believe those ladies. They're acting like teenagers, ha ha."

"Don't worry, they were just fans. I have had much, _much_ worse."

"Oh yeah? What happened? Did someone try and cut off your hair and clone you?" Dale laughed and cleaned his hands before starting to work on the stitching.

"No, not that crazy." I laughed finally, shrugging my shoulders as Dale began to finish the stitching Andrea should have done. "So, how long have you and the others been together?" I looked at the old man who widened his eyes and took a deep breath in, thinking long and hard about how they all finally found each other.

"It's a long story but, I had found Andrea and her sister, Amy, stuck on the side of the road. I helped them into the RV and once outside Atlanta when all Hell broke loose, we met up with the others: Lori, Shane, Daryl, Carol and her family."

"Carol? The shorter woman?"

"Yeah, her husband was killed in our camp during the night when a herd had found us; ripped him wide open. I shouldn't say he deserved it but, sometimes, putting your hands on your wife in public out of anger allows the laws of this world to have you ripped to shreds." He chuckled, looking back up at me as I joined in on the laughter. "But, what happened just a couple of hours ago was something no one had expected."

"That huge herd, right?"

"Oh yeah." Dale nodded, finishing up on the knot and tugging it just a tad to keep it tight. "We were absolutely scared shitless and I can personally vouch for that. That little girl though, Sophia, had gotten out from under the car, thinking it was all over. One of the Walkers almost caught her, forcing her to move away and back under the undercarriage. She screamed, which made it even worse, catching the attention of another Walker to come after her. And then, she ran away. Rick chased after her, telling all of us to stay put, saying he'd take care of it. It looks like he hasn't and that's a darn shame. Poor girl," Dale ended, cleaning the stitch with some hydrogen peroxide he pulled from a bucket underneath the small sink in the RV.

"So, was that Rick who cut me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as he nodded, taking a seat opposite of me at the table.

"Yep. I guess he thought you were a Walker."

"A Walker, huh? Is that what you call them?"

Dale nodded again, pulling his fisherman's cap off of his head and wiping his sweaty forehead. "Yeah, why? What do you call the 'undead'?"

I shook my head and looked back out of the window. "Walker sounds much more threatening than Blank." I chuckled, grabbing the bottom of my shirt and wiping my face of its sweat.

"Well, I guess it's anyone's prerogative out here now; no rules, no political correcting. Just good ol' fashioned 'kill or be killed' or rather, 'kill or be killed and join the undead'." Dale laughed out, shaking his head at the poorly executed joke.

"It's so true though. I don't know how I kept her alive for as long as I did." I motioned to Hailey as she played with the young boy, Carl, on the bed.

Dale turned around and smiled, his dark eyes gleaming as he saw the children playing as if nothing was wrong. As he turned back towards me, he had a serious look on his face. His black eyebrows were drawn down as he looked at me. "I have another question and I am so sorry to keep bothering you about it but, why did her mother leave her? Was she killed?"

I kept my eyes on Hailey, her smile brightening the small room as they read mathematic books. I shook my head and looked back to Dale. "How could a woman, a mother, just leave her own child? I asked myself that for what has felt like years. I questioned humanity once the virus spread, bagging up all the belongings I could and boarded a private aircraft headed to Atlanta, non-stop. I had gotten a call from my daughter's neighbor who I had asked to keep me informed on how she was doing, any violence or shit like that; and as soon as I answered that call, I couldn't stop myself from feeling betrayed, angered. The neighbor had told me she had Hailey and that a fire was spreading through the city. She said it was like wildfire and that people were trying to break down her door, trying to kill her as soon as she locked it with Hailey inside.

"She told me that Hailey's mother had run off with her dude, leaving her screaming in that empty apartment as the city began to burn. Her mother left her to die, to rot and be burned by the malicious fire that was somehow sweeping through the city and I was still in Los Angeles, still waiting for the damn plane to take off. I had no idea what I was going to do, I…"

"Dale! Rick's back! Sohpia's gone…" Andrea shouted, her face reddened with distress.

* * *

**A/N: Did you like it? Review and tell me if you praise it, don't like it or want to stomp on it while it burns. Do it.**

**-Laania**


	2. Chapter Two

**Author's Note: I'm back! Whether it's good or bad, I'm uploading a new chapter! I got a great response from the first chapter and I would like to thank R. S. Carter, deelove1 and Emberka-2012 for their reviews! Not to mention the countless followers and people who've signed up for alerts; thank you!  
Well, I'll quit my blabbing so ya'll can read the story now. Read and review!**

**Disclosure: Blah, blah, blah... I don't own The Walking Dead... Blah, blah, blah...**

**Chapter Two**

"_**She told me that Hailey's mother had run off with her dude, leaving her screaming in that empty apartment as the city began to burn. Her mother left her to die, to rot and be burned by the malicious fire that was somehow sweeping through the city and I was still in Los Angeles, still waiting for the damn plane to take off. I had no idea what I was going to do, I…"**_

"_**Dale! Rick's back! Sophia's gone…" Andrea shouted, her face reddened with distress.**_

…

Dale and I sat in stunned silenced as Andrea tried catching her breath, feeling the heavy weight of the humidity in the air finally takes over her. No one moved, no one made a sound; even the children playing in the bedroom had heard it and they stopped their playing to listen, they stopped so that the young boy, Carl, could hear about the fate or impending fate of his friend.

And it was he who stoke first, breaking the silence as he walked towards the front of the RV, looking at Andrea as she shook her head, somehow apologizing that his friend was now missing in a world that wasn't truly even inhabitable. Carl stood there, his hands turning into fists as he neared Andrea, his eyesight towards the steps she was standing on, obscuring the way for everyone who wanted to either enter or leave.

As Carl pushed past Andrea who had pressed herself to the wall as hard and thin as she could, she turned to look back at us. Her eyes were filled with fear as she walked away, returning to where ever she had come from.

"Come on; let's go introduce you to everyone here." Dale said somberly, shaking his head as he stood up and grabbed his rifle he had resting against the counter opposite of us.

I eyed my daughter and she came my way, her precious doll in hand as she stood in front of me, her blue eyes questioning what had just happened. I stood from the table, walking ahead of her to see if there was any type of threat, anything that would hurt my daughter. I already crossed that woman named Lori off my list as potential people to take care of Hailey. I walked down the steps and turned to pick Hailey up. I pressed her against my right side as I followed the commotion of voices; all of them were whispering their concerns as the sun began to set quicker than it had yesterday.

"…I don't know where she could have gone off to. I told her to stay put and when I came back, she was gone. I'm so sorry, Carol." A man in a Sheriff's uniform whispered, his eyes soft as he touched her shoulder, watching as she began to break down, her face in her hands as she cried out, screaming for her little girls' safety.

I looked for Dale who was standing next to this Sheriff, his eyes scanning the horizon in all directions as he tried to keep the group together. "Look, I think she's alright. We're not going to move from this spot until we find her." He spoke out, looking to his group for some sort of acceptance on his proposal.

"Well, why the fuck are we just standin' here for?" The same rough voice said. I looked into the voices' direction, seeing that same redneck-looking man with a crossbow resting on his shoulder.

"I hate to admit it but, Dixon has a point. We need to search for Sophia." The man with the black curly said, his hand going to his face to wipe the sweat off his brow.

"Shane's right," the Sheriff concurred, looking at me as Hailey held her doll around my neck. "I guess I owe you an apology. The name's Rick, Rick Grimes. I thought you were a Walker; I guess we get caught up in the moment." He stuck his hand out for me to shake.

I nodded and switched Hailey to my other hip, taking his hand in mine and giving it a firm shake. "The world may have ended but it seems as if you and _almost_ everyone else has the common courtesy to apologize." My eyes drifted to the redneck, the man with curly black hair and the woman with long brown hair.

"Well, my momma did raise me here in the South." He chuckled, turning himself to call someone over. "I'd like for you to meet my wife, Lori," the woman with the long brown hair walked forward, her eyes acknowledging me then looking away. "And my son, Carl." The young boy walked forward, his eyes looking up at Hailey as she struggled to get down.

"I've met both of them already but, it's nice to have a formal introduction." I chuckled as I looked at Hailey who smiled brightly at me. "This is my daughter, Hailey and my name is Jason, Jason Knight."

"The Jason Knight? From '_To Hell with Love_'?" Rick asked with an interest.

I laughed out loud, placing Hailey down on the freeway as I rubbed the back of my head. "Same guy."

"How did…"

"Look," the redneck interrupted. "I ain't trying to ruin no god damn reunion but, there's a kid out there who _you_ lost." The redneck pointed to Rick, his eyes squinted between the two of us. "So, if ya'll wanna find this little girl, then I suggest we move our asses." He stalked away from the group, his crossbow still on his shoulder.

"I guess a talk will have to wait. We could use another hand finding Sophia. Would you help us?" Rick asked, his Sheriff's hat blocking the sun but, his eyes still half-way closed.

"Sure." I turned around, my eyes settling on Dale who stood near Andrea. "Would you mind looking after her? Just give her a book and she'll be set." I chuckled.

"Oh, I have a hundred books she can read." Dale walked over to Hailey who only stared at him. "Do you like dinosaurs?"

"Oh yeah! My favorite is a tricera… triceratops?" She stuttered, questioning herself if she had said it correctly.

"The triceratops is a good dinosaur. I like the tyrannosaurus rex best." Dale grabbed her hand and took her back to the RV, talking all about dinosaurs along the way.

"Well, come on. It looks like we don't have a long time to search before it becomes nightfall." Rick said, turning to the man with the curly black hair and motioning with his head to follow him.

…

"Cute kid you got back there." Said Shane, the man with the curly black hair. He held his rifle against his body, the nozzle pointed towards the ground. "Sorry about what happened back there. I was just trying to figure out who you were."

I held a handgun and carefully took each step, listening for any sign of a Blank. "Don't worry about it. Thanks for apologizing unlike _someone_ else." I motioned to the redneck that was walking in a crouched position.

"Dixon? Man, you won't get one nice thing out of that guy. He's got a racist stick so far up his…"

"Hey, we're looking for Sophia, not gossiping like teenage girls." The Asian boy had said.

Shane and I looked between each other, shrugging our shoulders as we continued walking. "He got a stick up his ass, too?" I asked, whispering so the Asian couldn't hear.

"Who the hell cares? His name's Glenn… Or boy, whichever you prefer." Shane said as he smirked and pulled a branch out of the way.

I nodded, continuing along the path Dixon had walked. He led the group through the woods, weaving through trees and bushes until we hit a creek. The redneck looked at the ground, his eyes tracing the invisible line in the ground. The footprints that had been left by the girl were still fresh, still traceable as the sun began to burn within the trees. It would be dark soon, even I knew that.

"Move it, movie star. You're fucking up the tracks." Dixon had spit out, his eyes looking at a trail underneath my feet. I looked down, picking my feet up as I walked off the 'path', watching as the redneck kept his eyes to the ground.

"You know, if you got a problem…" I started.

"Then what? You gonna do something, city boy?" Dixon whipped around his body beginning to get into a fighting position.

"Maybe I will. I don't know you that well but, I ain't afraid to drop you on your ass." I pushed him away from me, watching as he threw his crossbow on the ground.

"AHH!" Glenn shouted.

"Yeah, mother fucker? Come on, then!" Dixon charged at me, his shoulder taking my stomach as he dropped us both to the forest floor.

"Oh shit! Come on, guys!" Rick shouted, his hands trying to grab onto Dixon's shoulders.

Dixon tried punching at me but, I easily pulled my hands out from between us, catching his fist in my left hand and nicking his face with my other hand. He became distracted and I rolled him over, taking the front of his shirt in my hand and raising a fist up to hit him.

"Well, come on! You think you're so tough?" Dixon shouted at me, a bit of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"No way, fucker. I just wanted to see you on your back like a bitch." I jumped up as soon as Rick and Shane's hands grabbed my shoulders and hoisted me off of the redneck.

"That's enough! Now, I don't know who you are, Jason but, pulling shit like that is unacceptable if you want to stay in our group!" Rick shouted, his hands up in between Dixon and myself, his face filled with anger and sweat.

"Maybe I don't want to be in your group! If you hadn't cut me open, I wouldn't even be here!" I shouted back at him, turning around and walking away from the four men.

"Can I have some help, please?! Shit!" Glenn shouted, grasping onto his ankle as he rocked back and forth on the ground.

"Oh shit," I whispered, running to the young man who just stared at me. "I'm sorry about that, Glenn." I said, trying to move his hands out of the way so I could see the wound.

"Whatever, man! You're just as much in trouble as Daryl is! Just… Just please get me back to camp!" He cried out.

"Well, let me see it! I gotta know what it going on!" I shouted at him, finally pulling his hands away. I looked at his ankle and began to laugh, holding my eyes as I fell back on my ass.

"What?! Why are you laughing?!" Glenn shouted, his eyes filled with unspilled tears.

"It's barely a scratch! Ha, ha, ha! Oh, God. I thought you were dying or some shit." I relaxed as Rick and Shane came to investigate.

"It's true, Glenn. You probably only need a Band-Aid, unless you want some stitches like Jason over here." Shane chuckled, knocking my shoulder as I stood up, looking behind me to see Dixon roughly wipe the blood away from his mouth.

"Well, at least we don't have to carry you back. I thought I was gonna have to chop your foot off." Rick chuckled, trying to hide the smile on his face.

"Shut up, all of you! Ya'll are so mean!" Glenn shouted, jumping up and limping on his leg.

"Oh no, we hurt his feelings." Shane laughed, making Rick and I join in on the fun.

"Leave me alone! I'm going back to camp!" Glenn said, limping his way out of the forest.

"Make way for the Prima Donna! Man with an attitude coming through!" Shane called out, the three of us laughing to our hearts contents.

…

"Hey, sweetheart," I whispered as my hand gently moved the hair out of Hailey's sleepy face.

Her blue eyes barely visible through her heavy eyelids as she tried to open them, tried to look up at me as I kept playing with her hair. "Hi, Daddy," she whispered. She gave a tired and soft smile as she rolled over, bringing the blanket up to her cheeks.

"Did you and Mr. Dale talk about dinosaurs?" I asked her, watching as she stretched in the small make-shift bed Dale had made her at the seat of the table. Her eyes looked up at me as she nodded, yawning as she did.

"Yeah, he showed me… a book on all the dinosaurs that… ever ruled the world." She yawned, her tired eyes blinking as if to keep her awake.

"That's great, sweetheart." I smiled down at her as she curled back up; the pillow that was under her head had fallen onto the floor and as I leaned over to pick it up, a whistle brought me back up. I turned around and saw Shane standing at the door of the RV, his hand motioning me to get outside. I nodded and held up a hand, letting him know I'll be there in a moment.

I looked to the pillow in my hand, fluffing it as I looked back down at my daughter. I picked her head up just slightly and ever so carefully and tucked the pillow in between her head and the seat of the table. I sighed and pushed myself away from her, heading out the door before closing it so nothing could get in. I walked to the back of the RV, the graveyard of cars and the silence of the night wasn't what I expected to happen to this world but, we adapted, we're human.

"Eh!" Followed with a whistle grabbed my attention as my mind had been in the darkest parts of the graveyard ahead.

I looked up and saw Shane and Glenn sitting on the roof of the RV. I began to climb the ladder, taking each step quickly as I reached the top, walking up towards the two men keeping watch.

"Finally," Glenn said as he stood up from the lawn chair and handed me the long rifle and began to climb down the steps of the ladder.

"Is he still mad about earlier?" I asked, watching as a car door slammed within the silence.

"Man, forget about him." Shane chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck, walking to the other side of the RV and held up his pair of binoculars and searched the outer reaches of the graveyard of cars. "We got a live one." Shane whispered, his body stiffening as he watched the Blank weave slowly and shuffled loudly through the cars.

I walked towards him, taking the binoculars into my hands and focusing on the spot Shane was watching. Sure enough, two Blanks had wondered back into the graveyard, their mouths ripping at the air and their growls silenced from the distance we had. "It looks as if another one has joined the first two."

"What?" Shane ripped the binoculars from me, focusing in on the spot I had just been at. We were handing the binoculars back and forth; five Blanks, seven Blanks, even ten Blanks.

"This can't be happening. Do you think it's that herd from yesterday?" I asked as we dropped to our knees so we were still a bit hidden from the creatures dragging themselves towards us even if they didn't mean it.

"I don't know, man. All I do know is that we have to tell everyone else." Shane looked to me, his face covered in sweat and the smallest amount of fear.

"Yeah, we can't let the others be woken up by this." I kept my eyes on the bobbing heads of the Blanks as they continued their journey deeper towards us. "I'm going to get everyone into the RV. It's the safest place, by far." I went to stand up, only for Shane to grip onto my arm and pull me back down.

Shane motioned with his head to the right, and as I turned to look at what he saw, he pushed me down to the roof of the RV, the grunts and rasps of the undead moving around the RV brought me out of my dispute with Shane. I looked to Shane and he looked straight at me, keeping as calm as the wind that surrounded us, which was none since we were in the hellacious state of Georgia.

The humid night air was strangling me, my breathing quickened when I realized my daughter was only below me with an unlocked door. My eyes went wide; my heart rate sped up to incredible speeds as I felt the slam of a fist or hand on the side of the RV. A Blank was trying to get to my daughter and here I was on top of the only safe haven this world had to offer, keeping myself safe and silent. Why wasn't I down there? Why wasn't I there trying to save my daughters life?

I pushed away from Shane and the RV, running silently to the ladder on the other side and looked down and around; seven Blanks were slowly moving around the RV, their hands gently pressing against the metal as their faces leaned in closely, smelling the metal as if meat was just inside, or even right on top of it.

A hand grabbed my shoulder, dragging me back to the middle of the RV where the vent lid was open, a square sheet of mesh discarded on top of the pale white roof of the RV. "Get in! They won't see you from here!" Shane whispered, grabbing the rifle that was relaxing in the fold out chair.

I looked down and saw the bathroom and nodded, putting my feet in first and easing myself through the small hole. Gravity was on my side tonight and I fell through the hole and landed on the floor with a soft thud; I cursed then I thought of the Blanks that surrounded the RV and how their hearing was beyond impeccable.

As soon as I knew they heard the thud, I ran through bathroom door as fast and quietly as I could to the front of the RV where the door was being rattled from the outside. I looked to the table and the seats where my daughter was sleeping, the blanket tossed to the floor and the pillow pushed against the wall.

"Hailey," I whispered, my world crashing down as I looked to the door that was being shaken. I grabbed onto the handgun that was in the belt of my pants, cocking it as I pointed it to the door. I could shoot now, without knowing who was outside or, I could wait, and take my chances. I shook my head hard, beating my forehead with the butt of the gun, cursing myself for not looking over Hailey closer than necessary. I swallowed my fear and looked to the door as I held onto the handle with all my might. "Fuck it!" I shouted, throwing the door open, waiting for the Blank to come running in and try to eat my face off.

I pointed the barrel of the gun at my daughter whose face was covered in sweat and tears. I put the gun down on the floor, grabbing her shirt as hard as I could and pulling her inside, watching as a Blank reached in at the last second. I kicked the arm, hearing the gnarling sounds of the Blank as I let go of Hailey, pushing her off into the driver's seat where I knew she'd be okay.

"Fuck, fuck!" I shouted, reaching the gun I had thrown on the floor while trying to kick off the Blank trying to come in. I stretched my fingers, yelling incoherently as I kept a good hard boot on the rotting flesh of the undead's arm, the other foot trying flailing wildly about as I stretched as hard as I could, my fingers just centimeters away from the cold metal.

"Fuck!" I shouted again, not caring about the language in front of Hailey. All I heard were her screams and cries and the deadly growls of the Blank trying to get in. I pushed myself further, finally touching the gun until I heard a gunshot outside, blood splattering the inside of the door and the jeans I was wearing. I let go of the arm that was against the side of the door and watched as it fell away outside. I grabbed the gun and jumped up as fast as I could, slamming the door open and shooting a second Blank that was behind the first. The female had gone down quickly and the rotten blood had come towards me, coating my chest as I stood in the doorway and looked out, trying to see if any other Blanks were outside. I looked up to see Shane, his rifle's barrel smoking as he gave me a nod and I returned it, slamming the door closed and looking to Hailey who was huddled in the driver's seat.

I reached for her, hearing her cry out as I touched her shoulder, watching as she shrugged away from me. "Baby, it's okay." I whispered, pulling her into me as I felt her sobs against my chest. I tried quieting her down, rubbing the back of her head as I sank to the floor, the gun right next to us as the growls of the undead sounded outside the RV. "Daddy's here, baby. It's okay." I whispered again, trying to keep her calm as I rocked us back and forth, my face in her hair as I held her tightly against me.

"Baby, what were you doing outside? You know that is dangerous." I whispered to her as the groans became silent and my daughter's cries weakening.

She sobbed still, her face completely flushed with tears as she pushed back a little and rubbed her cheeks hard. "I-I needed to go… potty…" She cried out, leaning back as she cried into her hands, her mouth open as she cried out. Her hair caught itself inside her mouth as she cried out again.

"Baby, quiet down." I told her, looking at her as she tried to silence herself, knowing she was too loud. "Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you use the bathroom in here?" I pointed to the closed door in the small hallway of the RV.

"Mr. Dale was in there and I-I really had to go." She mumbled out, her tears almost over.

"Oh, baby," I whispered as I pulled her into me again, rubbing the back of her head as she cried silently this time, her small hands grabbing onto my shirt, the rotten blood touching her porcelain skin.

A loud and sudden bang on the RV door brought us out of our moment. Hailey looked to me as I stood up, putting her back in the driver's seat and grabbed the gun that was on the brown carpet. I aimed it at the door as I unlocked it, throwing it open and seeing the redneck with his crossbow pointed at me.

"What the fuck is your problem, man? Are you trying to get us killed?" He shouted, his finger barely covering the trigger as I kept the barrel of my gun at him.

"I was protecting my kid, dumb ass!" I shouted at him, cocking my gun as he stiffened and kept the crossbow pointed at me.

"Hey! Put your weapons down, _now_!" Rick had shouted, hidden by the RV. His voice had carried to us but, we refused to put any of our weapons down, mine and Dixon's hate for each other boiling as Rick's hand appeared and pulled Dixon's crossbow down and aimed it at the ground.

Rick finally showed up in my eyesight and looked up at me covered in the blood of the undead. "Were you bit?" He asked, his eyes narrowing as he looked at me.

"No," I turned to my daughter who stood on the seat. "Were you bitten, sweetheart?" I asked, watching as she shook her head 'no'.

"Good," Rick breathed out, turning to Dixon as he watched the redneck shake his head and walk away, hopefully running to his truck to go back to sleep.

"What the hell happened here?" Rick and I turned into the RV to see Dale in a wife beater and lounging pants.

Rick and I looked at each other until Rick nodded, pocketing his gun as he climbed the steps of the RV and passed me. "We had a small herd come through. Daryl and Jason got into a fight but, it's okay. You go back to sleep, it's been taken care of."

A look came over Dale's face and then he nodded, turning around until he stopped, taking a look was sitting in the driver's seat. "What was she doing up?" He asked, his eyes looking between Rick and myself.

"She was outside during this, using the bathroom." I said, my hands balling into fists as I realized I could have lost my little girl.

"Why didn't she use this one?" Dale pointed to the bathroom in the hallway he stood in.

Rick looked up to me and I nodded, looking at Rick then back to Dale. "You were using it."

Dale's face went white until he nodded solemnly and turned back into the bedroom, closing the door as quietly as he could.

I looked over to Rick who leaned against the table of the RV, his hand rubbing his forehead as he took in deep breaths. "Sorry about tonight, Rick." I broke the small bout of silence, watching as he brought his face up, looking out the curtained window and the darkness outside.

"It's fine. It's your little girl; I would have done the same for Carl. He's my life," he shook his head again, pushing from the table and walking towards me. He placed his hands on my shoulder before looking back at me. "We have a small search party in the morning. Get some shut eye, okay?"

I nodded and watched as he left the RV and closed the door. I reached down and locked the door, turning back to Hailey as she stood on the seat watching me. I held my hand out and she grabbed on as I pulled her up and out of the seat, walking hr to the make-shift bed and placed her down on the vintage seat and grabbed her pillow and blanket off the floor, setting up her bed.

"Go to bed and if you need anything, come and get me, okay? No matter what." I smiled and kissed her forehead, tucking the blanket under her and sitting on the other seat, relaxing against the wall as my feet rested up on the cushion.

…

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty." A sudden push of my feet woke me up quickly, staring at Shane as he held the rifle on his shoulder.

I rubbed my eyes as I yawned, trying to kick him for waking me up. "Nice wake up call." I said as I pushed myself forward out of the seat, watching as Shane gave room for me to stand. I stood tall compared to him; I stretched my arms and noticed I could see a bit over his head and looked out the windshield and saw the group standing out there, the redneck amongst them with his crossbow on his shoulder.

"That idiot is out there," Shane said, saying exactly what was on my mind.

"I swear that guy is gonna get on one of my last nerves," I mumbled, shaking my head as I followed the laughter coming from Shane out the door.

I entered the bright white light of the Georgia sun, the group looking at me as I followed Shane towards them, the women looking between themselves as Dixon slurred a few curses together.

"Alright, everyone listen up," Rick started, getting everyone's attention as he held his arms up a bit, signaling for everyone to look at him. "We're gonna split up into teams to go and find Sophia. I want Dale, Glenn, T-Dog and the ladies to stay here if she comes back. Keep watch while we search for her and protect each other. Don't let anyone get more than what you can see; Walkers can hide anywhere, okay?

"I want Shane, Daryl, Jason and myself to go find Sophia, it'll be easier searching for her in groups of two, like a buddy system. Daryl, you and I will go together and Shane, you and Jason go together, it'll be best that way. If something happens, you have each other, there'll be no expecting to get jumped from behind because someone will be behind you, got it?

"Now, Daryl and I will go up the creek bed," Rick pointed to a map that had been severely worn out that was lying out on the hood of the RV. "Shane, you and Jason go down the creek bed, see what you can find. I told her to stay on the creek bed, so, we'll see footprints from her somewhere, where ever she went."

Rick looked between the three of the men, nodding and wiping the sweat from his face before looking at Daryl and grabbing his handgun and putting it into his jeans. "We meet here before sun down; only go three miles out, no more." Rick looked to Shane and me, grabbing both of our hands to shake them before starting to walk away. "Good luck." He said as he turned away with Dixon, jumping over the guardrail and running into the woods.

* * *

**A/N: Alright, the hunt for Sophia is starting. Hope you enjoyed and I'll see ya'll next update! Review and tell me how you liked it, hated it or wanna flush it down the toilet so it 'sleeps with the fishes'. Do it.  
****-Laania**


	3. Chapter Three

__**Author's Note: I'm back! Again... Well, here is chapter three and I'd like to thank Emberka-2012, deelove1, Kayce Skywalker and daughterofrisingsun for their inspiring reviews! I like this chapter, it's pretty stressing but, I enjoyed writing it. So! Review and enjoy!**

**Disclosure: Blah, blah, blah... I don't own The Walking Dead... Blah, blah, blah...**

**Chapter Three**

_**Rick looked between the three of the men, nodding and wiping the sweat from his face before looking at Daryl and grabbing his handgun and putting it into his jeans. "We meet here before sun down; only go three miles out, no more." Rick looked to Shane and me, grabbing both of our hands to shake them before starting to walk away. "Good luck." He said as he turned away with Dixon, jumping over the guardrail and running into the woods.**_

…

I breathed a sigh of relief I wasn't with Daryl, thanking whatever unseen force had split us apart. As I ran my fingers through my short hair and knocking the sweat out of it, Shane grunted and turned around, grabbing a black duffle bag from the highway floor. As I looked over to Shane who had already headed off towards a green Hyundai Tucson and threw the bag in the back, I ran over, my mind spinning.

"What are you doing, Shane?" I asked aloud, getting Andrea's attention.

Shane looked at me then behind me, his dark eyes shielded as he slammed the back of the trunk closed. "Man, I'm leaving. Just…" He paused, looked around then turned back to the green SUV.

"Shane, you can't leave!" Andrea said, grabbing hold of the older guys' arm.

"Watch me! If I can't have Lori and Carl, then I don't want to be anywhere near them!" He said as he shook his arm from the woman's grip.

I had no idea what was going on other than the fact that one: we needed to go look for Sophia and two: there was something about drama that would make a great show. "Shane, I understand," I said suddenly, watching as he stopped walking and turned around with a hard and confusing look in his eyes.

"What'd you know about 'understandin'?" His southern drawl was coming out thick now, probably from the rage he felt inside by some unknown dude trying to relate with him.

"Look," I started as I walked over, trying to make this conversation as quiet as I could. "It was the same way with Hailey."

Shane and Andrea both looked at me; their eyes guarded with the new information. "Man, that's bullshit. Get out of my way, I'm leaving."

I pushed him at the chest and watched him stumble backwards into the side of SUV. "I had to leave Hailey and her mother even though it tore me up inside! Do you think leaving this group will make it better, stronger without you in it?!" I walked a bit away to get my composure together and wiped the sweat off of my forehead.

"We were told to go find this little girl and that's what I'm gonna do, with or without you." I made sure my knife and handgun were on me and began walking through the maze of cars. "But, if you decide to stay, this conversation never happened." I turned once more to get a look at both of them. They turned to each other, nodding and agreeing about never saying anything about that subject ever again.

"Just stay and help find Sophia. She needs us more than your personal needs." Andrea said to Shane as she began to follow me.

I could hear Andrea footsteps come closer the more I walked through the maze. I felt her hand grab my arm, trying to slow me down to talk to me. "Hey," she said as I spun around, facing her as the sun began to rise a little more over the few pines and thick oaks that lined the road.

"What?" I asked, looking directly at her as she shook her head a little, releasing my arm and crossing her arms over her chest.

"I just wanted to let you know that your secret is safe with me." She said, her eyes cast away as she spoke.

"It's not a secret; it's just something I don't want Hailey to know about." I sighed and looked away from her and at the forest that was still dark from the night. "It was in the tabloids all over the nation. My publicist tried getting them off the stand but, freedom of speech and all…" I shook my head, chuckling at the rage I felt just not that long ago.

"I remember seeing them but, I never was into the gossip magazines. My sister, Amy, was more into the whole 'Hollywood scene' than I was. She thought she could have been best friends with any of them from her knowledge of almost everyone." Andrea chuckled as she remembered Amy sitting on the couch of her dorm room, reading the magazine like a bible.

"I was always set off by women who read those magazines. They were such liars unless they hit a really great story then somehow, they'd know everything like they were standing right next to you when it happened. That's what happened with me and my ex. Somehow, in every magazine, the details were in there like they were watching us. Come to find out, my ex had been recording all of the conversations we were having and was selling them to the highest bidder. I couldn't believe it."

"She sounds horrible. Why did she do that?" Andrea asked, her eyebrows furrowed as she listened intently.

"She sounds like it and yeah, it seemed that way to almost everyone but, I understood her reason only once."

"You understood it? How?"

"She wanted Hailey but, we weren't married. I had been taking care of Hailey since she had been born and the courts found me her primary caretaker, making my ex pay child support for her. I told the courts that it wasn't necessary, so, they decided for my proposal. A few years later, when Hailey was three, she decided to file for primary custody, saying I was placing Hailey in a terrible environment and not giving her the proper attention she needed. I was dumb-struck. I had only made one movie in those three years and thankfully, that movie was a box office smash. I would be able to pay for five mansions in Beverly Hills with the amount of money I had gotten from that movie.

"When my ex saw that, she went ballistic and I guess she tried to fight for Hailey again and get child support. In California, child support can either destroy you or absolutely kill you, making you want to destroy yourself. My ex filed for $25,000 a month for child support, increasing by ten thousand every year. It absolutely devastated me."

I sighed and brought my hand to my face, wiping the sweat away, even the guilt I felt was covering my face.

"I'm sorry. How long ago was this?" Andrea asked, looking away and at a car in front of us.

"A few weeks before the world went straight to Hell. Thank God I didn't have to pay for it." I chuckled as Shane came towards me with his rifle's strap hanging off his shoulder.

"You ready?" He asked, his eyes looking at me even though his face was turned away.

I nodded, turning away from Andrea who watched the two of us head down the road, opposite of Dixon and Rick.

…

"I never understood your type," Shane said after about forty minutes of pure silence as we walked along the riverbed, searching for tracks as if we could see any.

I looked at him, puzzled by what he meant.

"I mean, you pretty boys who have all the money in the world and can get any woman you want. It's stupid, man." He said with his southern drawl.

I shook my head, trying to keep a chuckle silent as we continued along the muddy bank. "It wasn't all fun and games in the beginning."

"It never is." He countered, his rifle pointed to the ground as we listened intently on any noise different from what we were trying not to make.

"What did you use to do before all of this?" I asked, moving a thick branch out of the way as Shane passed ahead.

"I was Rick's partner in the police force." He looked to me, shaking his head as he smiled. "I guess you were a movie star by how all the ladies back at camp talk about you."

I perked up. "They _all_ talk about me?"

"Oh yeah, man. It's like, 'Jason this' and 'Jason that', 'oh, he's so fine'." Shane laughed silently as we continued on.

"Shit, I didn't mean for that to happen."

"Well, at least their happier now than being all up in our business; making us go find food for them while they sit in the RV talking about bullshit. Women…"

I laughed a little, shaking my head as I looked behind, searching for any Blanks that may have spotted the two of us.

"I use to be the sexy guy all the ladies wanted. Looks like I got some competition." He joked as we continued on the invisible trail.

"You can have them. I got only one girl in my life and I plan to keep it that way." I laughed out loud until we heard a snarl coming from across the creek bed.

We stopped in our tracks and dropped to our knees, keeping as silent as possible as the snarling got louder and louder. I pressed my back against Shane, keeping an eye out behind us as I grabbed the sheathed knife from my pants.

Shane's elbow nudged me in the side, making me turn around to see a Blank watching us, ripping at the air from the other side of the creek. It had only one arm and the stench of the rotten body made us take in a deep breath and hold it in, watching as it tried moving down the small cliff it was standing on.

It fell off, landing face first in the water. I took my chance, jumping up with the knife and jumped blindly into the creek bed, taking the knife and driving it into the back of the skull of the walking dead.

I pulled out the knife once the body stopped moving, twisting the blade in the skull just for good measure.

"Good job, pretty boy." Shane said as he kicked the body over so that it was on its back.

"Should we look to see if it had gotten a hold of Sophia?" I asked as I crouched down over the body.

"I ain't touchin' that shit. Come on, let's head back. It's probably around three, I'm guessing." Shane said as he looked up to the sky, his hand shielding his face as the sun tried blinding him.

"I agree. I don't like leaving Hailey with a bunch of women that can't defend themselves." I washed the blade in the water before wiping it off on my pants and putting it back in the sheath.

"You got something against women?" Shane asked as we started for the bank and climbed up the edge.

"Just something against Hailey's mother and all the other women that act like her." I grabbed onto the limb of a tree and pulled myself up, reaching behind to give Shane a hand.

"Well," Shane grunted as he jumped over the edge. "I think women can come in handy at times." He looked at me from the corner of his eye. "If you know what I mean."

I laughed out loud as we headed back towards camp, the sun to our left as we treaded through the forest again.

…

"What took you two so long? I only said three miles?" Rick asked as we jumped over the guardrail of the highway, sweat covering our faces and soaking the front and backs of our shirts.

"Rick, we were just giving ourselves some room to spread out, to search for her. I know you said three miles but, we came across a few Walkers along the way. We were only looking for that little girl." Shane said as he pulled his shirt up and wiped his face off.

"I bet ya'll faggots were fuckin' in the woods back there. That's why it took ya'll so long to get back here and why you're outta fuckin' breath." Dixon grunted as he leaned on the side of a motorcycle, most likely his.

I stared down the redneck before looking back at Rick. "We only searched what you told us to. How far did you go? It seems like you two weren't out of breath."

"We found a Walker and cut him open and came back; didn't take us more than two hours." Rick replied as he put his hands on his hips, his wife showing up out of nowhere to grab hold of his arm.

"That didn't seem like three miles like you told us. We walked three miles out and walked three miles back, six miles in total which gives the whole seven hours of searching some credit! Doesn't even seem like ya'll went out even a mile!" Shane yelled as he held his arm out to emphasize his point.

"Shane…"

"No, Jason! It's…"

"Shane, let's talk." I grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him away, pushing him to walk through the car graveyard and head for somewhere out of earshot yet, still visible.

I turned around and spotted Andrea, motioning her to come along with my head. As soon as she saw me, she started jogging over, the other women around her whispering to each other as the three of us walked away.

"I want you to talk to Shane and find out what it going on. Calm him down, lighten him up, okay?" I placed my hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile as I walked the other way.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

I turned my head and smiled again. "I'm gonna talk to Rick, tell him we're sorry."

I watched as she nodded and headed over to Shane who was leaning against an over-turned car, shouting something incoherent.

"Hey, Rick?" I asked as I came up behind him. His wife and son were in front of him, listening to what he had to say before I had interrupted.

"What's going on, Jason?" He asked as we walked away from the group a bit, getting some distance.

"I just wanted to let you know we were sorry for being late but, we were looking for that little girl. Look, instead of us splitting up, why don't we all go together as a group? Not just the men but, the women and the children too?" I watched Rick's expressions as he nodded.

He looked worried but, willing at the same time. "It would give us more of an advantage to find her."

I nodded and placed my hand on his shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze to reassure him. "I think it would be best. Carol, right? Wouldn't she feel as if she were doing something like finding her daughter more than what we are doing?"

Rick looked to me, his blue eyes squinting in the sun. "You're right. I'll let the group know as soon as possible so we can move quickly."

I sighed and gave a slight smile. "Thanks, Rick." He nodded and walked away, gathering his wife and son and then the others as he told them the plan.

…

We walked in an Amish line; the eleven of us walked silently except for Carol who shouted Sophia's name every few minutes. We tried to keep her calm and quiet, letting her know we weren't the only ones out here that we could hear us. She nodded quietly, her timid nature serving her as we continued to walk.

Rick jogged ahead of us and put his arms out as we began to slow, stopping and listening as Rick stared straight ahead.

A dull and almost silent bell rang through-out the forest, alerting us all.

"Sophia!" Carol shouted as she ran ahead of us, her tears coming down her face as we all ran after her and Daryl grabbing a hold of her, pulling her back as the rest of us ran ahead. I held onto Hailey who rested on my hip, pulling her to my chest as I ran towards the increasingly loud bell that radiated all around us.

"Everyone stop!" Rick shouted, putting his hands up as he grabbed his handgun and cocked it, holding it in front of him as the rest of the men and Andrea did the same. Shane cocked his rifle, Dixon pulled back the hard rope of his crossbow and aimed it forward, and our target was the small white church barely visible through the thick tree line.

Rick motioned us forward. I looked to Hailey before pulling my finger up to my lips, watching as she copied and did the same. I smiled before handing her over to Lori who took her with a smile.

I pulled out my handgun and checked the ammo before cocking it back and holding it in front of me, catching up with the others as we neared the church and the bell became annoyingly loud.

Rick ran up the steps, looking at the locked church doors before looking to Shane who stood right behind him, nodding for him to continue. Rick breathed out deeply and sucked in another breath, bringing his leg up and kicking in the doors as hard as he could.

The wood cracked underneath the force of his boot, breaking open the doors and introducing the inside of the chapel. The sun setting gave the inside a horrid glow and stench from inside made us turn our noses away yet, we continued inside.

Four people sat in the pews, facing forward as the statue of Jesus Christ hung from the ceiling, his position was hanging delicately on the cross.

Rick looked to us as we filed in, turning back to the people sitting on the pews. "Hello? Hello?" He shouted, getting their attention as they slowly turned around.

We all sighed, shaking our head as we aimed our weapons until Dixon pushed his way through and popped an arrow through the skull of the closest Blank. The three Blanks leftover were two men and a woman. They looked so preserved except for the missing internal organs.

I unlocked the gun and placed it back into my belt, taking out my knife instead as I ran over to the next closest Blank. An older man who was so thin he could be considered to survive the Holocaust from the way his skin laid on his bones.

I took the knife to his head, jabbing it straight up and through the soft part of the throat under the chin. I listened to the death rattle of the creature, watching as it became lifeless once again. I pulled the knife out and heard the others finish off the rest, ending the struggles of the pitiful and horrible existence of these things.

"Jason, come on. It's a dead end." Shane said as he waved me out, walking out the double white doors of the church.

I looked back to Rick who stood in front of the statue of Jesus, watching as he took of his hat and kept his eyes on him. I shook my head and walked out the doors and down the stairs, hearing Hailey and Carl laughing as they played in the clearing that surrounded the church.

I smiled as she tried chasing him and grabbing his shirt as Carl ran around in a circle, egging her on, playing while the men did unspeakable things inside that holy place.

"Hey," I looked to my right to see Dixon with his crossbow strapped over his shoulder.

"What?" I grunted out, crossing my arms over my chest as I looked at him.

"I ain't sorry for what I saw and what I do but, your little girl is something special. Take care of her unlike…" Dixon motioned over to Carol who was crying and being comforted by Lori and Andrea.

"I'd die for Hailey. I'm sure Carol would have done the same for Sophia."

Dixon shook his head as he came up and stood by me, watching the women do whatever women do. "She wouldn't have given her life for her. Why isn't she out with us searching for Sophia? She sits at that god damn RV and mumbles to herself. Dumb bitch."

I looked back at Dixon who was looking away from them. "I understand your reasons, I do. I don't understand her though. I mean, I haven't even been here for two days and I'm trying to help find this girl." I chuckled at the irony.

Dixon nodded before walking away. I watched as he went around to the back of the church, shaking his head along the way.

I turned my attention back to Rick and Shane who were walking towards me. "Hey guys," I said as I relaxed my arms and watched as the two of them simultaneously looked over to the direction Dixon walked.

"What did you two talk about? No fighting?" Rick asked, his eyes watching me carefully.

"No, we actually had a decent conversation." I said as Shane began to laugh.

"A decent conversation? With Daryl? Yeah, what a load of…"

"Anyways," Rick cut Shane off as he looked back to me. "We are going to split up into groups again for our way back, maybe get some more knowledge about the area. I want you to take the ladies and the other guys with you and split them up accordingly. Shane and I will split up by ourselves and do a bit more reconnaissance. Understand?"

"Understood." I walked away from them and to the ladies and gathered Dale, Glenn and T-Dog together with the kids and explained the situation and what the plan was.

Carl looked up at me then looked to his dad who stood behind with Shane next him. "But Dad, I want to go with you." Carl said as he walked over to him, looking up at his father.

"I don't think that is such a good idea, Carl." Lori said as she followed him, taking her son by both shoulders.

Rick looked to Carl and then to Shane who gave a slight smile. "It wouldn't hurt him to get a bit dirty, right big guy?" Rick rubbed Carl's hair and looked back to his wife. "He'll be fine. Nothing will happen." He gave her a kiss on her cheek before turning around with his hand on Carl's back, walking him with Shane as they went into another direction.

I walked over to Lori and patted her back. She looked at me with a worried look, her big brown eyes filled with a slight hint of fear. "He'll be alright, Lori. He's with his dad."

She nodded slowly before turning away and walking back to the rest of the group.

I looked to everyone who looked at me in return with orders on what to do. "Let's go, the sun's setting and I don't wanna be in a dark forest again." I heard chuckling behind me as Hailey ran to me and grabbed my hand. I smiled down at her as she smiled back at me.

She was the most important thing in my life, I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have her.

…

"Ugh, I think I ran through poison oak." Glenn cried out as we slowly walked through the forest.

"Be glad you didn't wipe your ass with it." T-Dog snapped right back, his breathing labored as we walked slow for him.

"Hey! Watch your language around the child." Lori said to T-Dog who only nodded in response.

I looked over at Lori who only smiled back and tucked her hair behind her ear. I looked down to a sleeping Hailey in my arms that sucked her thumb as we continued on.

"I don't think she heard but, thank you." I whispered to Lori who only nodded in return, holding her arm sheepishly as a response.

I shook my head and looked forward, seeing the dark forest still ahead of us.

"How much longer do we have to go? It feels like we've been walking forever." Andrea whined as she held Carol's hand.

"It only feels like it's been forever because the sun's going down but, we should be there any second now." I countered back, staring at her as she shook her head.

A blast resonated through-out the forest, the birds flying away, startled by the loud and unexpected noise from a gun.

We all stopped in our tracks. Hailey woke up, grabbing onto my neck tightly as she yawned against me.

"Daddy?" I pressed my finger against her lips as I looked to my right and out into the thick trees from where the sound came from.

"That was the direction Carl and Rick walked! Something happened!" Lori screamed, her hand over mouth as she started sobbing. I grabbed a hold of her by her arm before she fell to the ground.

"Stop screaming!" I whispered as I looked at everyone else. The slope of the ground going up indicated we were already at the highway. I shook Hailey a little to wake her up fully, letting go of Lori's arm and running over to Andrea. "Take her and get everyone back to camp!" I let Hailey fall into Andrea's open arms as I grabbed Lori's arm again.

She had fallen down to her knees, crying loudly as I tried to quiet her down.

"Glenn! Dale! Get Lori and take her back to camp! If any Blanks are here, they would have heard the sound and would come straight over here! Get going! Now!" I shouted as I grabbed the handgun from my waist and cocked it, running through the trees to the sound where the gunshot came from.

It sounded too close and Rick and Shane knew not to fire their guns this late in the day, the Blanks became much more active at night.

Something was wrong, I felt it deep down in my gut and somehow, I had no idea what I was getting into. I reached the screaming of Rick and Shane, hoping my fears were in vain but, once I saw the sight in front of me, I knew it was only confirming the worst of fears possible.

* * *

**A/N: Dun, dun, dun! What happened?! Well, we all know what happened in the show so, it follows that but, something different will happen. So, did you like it? Did you even love it? Review please and tell me all about your wild fantasies about Jason because I don't want to be the only one that has them. Do it.  
-Laania**


	4. Chapter Four

**Author's Note: Who's that comin' 'round the corner? Oh wait, it's me! What an amazing amount of support I've gotten from readers and reviewers alike. I want to thank deelove1, anonymous, Emberka-2012 and R. S. Carter for their great reviews. I continue on with your support and hope you all like it.**

**Disclosure: Blah, blah, blah... I don't own The Walking Dead... Blah, blah, blah...**

**Chapter Four**

_**Something was wrong, I felt it deep down in my gut and somehow, I had no idea what I was getting into. I reached the screaming of Rick and Shane, hoping my fears were in vain but, once I saw the sight in front of me, I knew it was only confirming the worst of fears possible.**_

…

I held onto Hailey as best as I could as I ran with the rest of the group up the last hill and to the RV and other cars in front of us.

"Andrea! Where did my daddy go?" Hailey asked as I jumped over the guardrail and ran to the closed door or the RV.

I steadied my breath as I looked down at her. She was so beautiful yet, the fear in her eyes took me by surprise. "I'm not sure, Hailey. But, we have to stay here until your father, Rick, Shane and Carl come back."

I felt Hailey grab onto the dirty shirt I was wearing, her tiny hands pulling down the fabric as if she couldn't communicate to get me attention. "Are they okay?"

She asked such a simple question and I was confused a stumped on what my reply should be. I blinked a few times before Carol and Lori ran over to me, both women in tears as they reached the RV. I shook my head of the confusion for just a bit and grabbed onto Lori's shoulder, leading her to the RV door. She opened it and stepped inside with Carol, the RV shaking as they moved about it.

"Andrea!" Hailey cried out, her eyes filling with tears as she begged to hear an answer.

I looked away to Glenn helping T-Dog over the guardrail and then back at the young girl in my arms. "Yes, sweetie. Everyone's okay."

I lied. She knew it but, swallowed her fear and tried to believe in my lie as best as she could. I ran into the RV after the women and to the back bedroom, passing up Lori and Carol as they hugged each other while sitting on the bench of the table.

I placed Hailey on the small twin bed on the right and fluffed the pillow before pulling down the thick wool blanket. I knelt as I became eye-level with her. I took a deep breath and tried calming my nerves as best as I could. "Sweetie, I need you to stay here, okay? Now, your father is a smart man and will do all that he can to help anyone. You know that, right?"

She nodded and I sighed in relief. I rubbed her shoulders as I stood up, closing the door on her even though I knew she'd rather have someone with her than be alone.

I rubbed my forehead as I came back to the table while Lori and Carol still tried to calm each other down. I couldn't believe they were still crying. Pick yourselves up, it's not like it's the end of the world. I stopped rubbing my head and thought about that for a moment. I lied, it was the end of the world but, we had to stay strong for those around us.

I reached up into the cupboard and pulled down a small cup and reached further into the wooden box high up above the small window and pulled out the brandy Dale had hidden back here. Unfortunately, when a woman cleans up, she sometimes finds things and this was what I really wanted to fine.

I uncorked the old brandy and poured just enough to fill the bottom of the glass. I put the brandy back and closed the cupboard, taking out the instant milk from the small pantry where Dale stored his clothes and measured some of the fine powder out to mix with some water I poured in the coup with the brandy.

After mixing the concoction, I walked back to the closed bedroom and watched as Hailey sat up with reddened and tear-ridden eyes. I knelt down again and handed her the drink. I gave a soft smile as she looked at it, her face filling with confusion and disgust.

"What is that? It smells weird." She pulled back from it, moving closer the wall of the RV.

"It's milk. It's not cold but, it tastes just as good." I handed her the glass and watched as she smelled it, taking a sip and then shaking her head in horror.

"It's nasty! I don't like it!" She cried out, handing me back the glass.

I could always just give her the brandy to calm her down, I thought to myself, shrugging my shoulders and deciding that was a much worse idea. "Just drink it. You'll feel better." I handed her back the glass and walked out the bedroom, closing the door behind me as I reached the table Lori and Carol were sitting at, holding onto each other as poor Carol sobbed her eyes out.

"Andrea, can you get Carol some water?" Lori asked, her request more of a demand.

I scoffed as Carol looked up at me, her eyes red and her cheeks wet from the fresh tears. "Yeah, sure," I walked away from the women and out the RV, turning towards the back of the small bus.

"Hey, Dale?" I turned the corner of the RV as a hand grabbed my hair from behind.

I screamed out, bending my body as I tried spinning around to see who was doing it. The snarls and growls of the hungry Walker confirmed what I had already begged myself not to believe.

"HELP!" I screamed, hoping someone would hear me.

The Walker let go of my hair and reached out for my arm as I tried pushing it away, grabbing a hold of the dirty white shirt I had been wearing for the past few days.

"DALE!" I cried out again, feeling the rotten flesh try and rip at me, the face of what may have been a beautiful woman was trying to claw at me, rip me and eat the live and fresh flesh of the living.

Suddenly, a horse crying out and the loud crack of skull and a weapon broke my screams. The tugging of my shirt went limp and as I opened my scared eyes, the Walker lay flat with his head burst open, putrid blood pouring out from the explosive crack.

I spun around to see a young woman on a horse, a bat in her hands covered in that vile liquid as her bright eyes looked harshly at me.

"Lori? Lori Grimes?" She shouted at me, her patience having wearied thin as I couldn't speak. The adrenaline was pumping through my body at 100 miles an hour. I sucked in short breaths but, none of them were coming out. I pushed my hand to my chest as I shook my head.

"Are you Lori Grimes?!" She shouted again at me, turning her horse around as it tried to keep calm with her yelling.

I heard a series of footsteps come from behind both of us. I watched as Daryl appeared with his crossbow held high, armed and aimed at the young girl on the horse. I looked behind me to see Lori, Carol, Dale, T-Dog and Glenn come running towards us.

"I-I'm Lori Grimes…" Lori walked over to me and the unknown girl, her hands grabbing onto my shaking shoulders.

"Rick is your husband? Your son is Carl, right? Rick sent me to get you; Carl's been shot and he needs you. Come on!" Her southern accent came out as she spoke to Lori, her hand reaching towards her.

"I'm sorry? What?" Lori shook her head as she tried to process the information.

"Rick sent me to come get you because your son, Carl, has been shot! Now, are you comin' with me or not? I ain't got all day!" She shouted at Lori, her eyebrows furrowing as she shook her hand out for Lori to grab on.

I watched out of the corner of my eye as Lori nodded and grabbed the young girls' hand, hoping onto the back of the horse and setting herself before the unknown girl looked to me.

"We have a farm about two miles back down the highway; look for the dirt road and the mailbox with 'Greene' on it! Hee-yah!" She shouted as she slapped the reins down and the horse took off and jumped over the guardrail and disappeared into the woods.

Everyone just stood in stunned silence for a while, looking at each other before we heard that oh-too-familiar scoff.

"What the fuck was that?! We don't fuckin' know her! We're just gonna let that bitch take Lori away?" Daryl shouted, letting the crossbow fall down to his thigh as he walked towards me.

I sucked in a few breaths before my nerves finally calmed themselves. "She… She knew Rick and Carl's name. Something must have happened." I wiped my forehead of the sweat and turned towards the others and away from Daryl.

"I think we need to go to that farm. We should go help." Glenn shied away, bringing up the idea as looked in between the group, studying everyone's reaction.

"What about Sophia? We can't just leave her out there and go somewhere else she doesn't know about!" Carol cried out, her hand taking place at her trembling lips.

"I'm not leaving without finding Sophia." I concurred, looking to Dale who nodded in agreement.

"We need to stay here. Sophia is our number one priority." Dale added also.

I looked over to T-Dog who sat on the back of the RV with a blanket wrapped around him. "What's wrong with you? It's 98 degrees out here and you're cold." I shook my head with sarcasm.

"If you had ever asked of paid attention, I ripped my arm open when that heard came through." T-Dog snapped back, his eyes half-closed as he puffed on a cigarette.

"He's not doing well." Dale started, getting everyone's attention. "He has a terrible blood infection and I don't think he's gonna be okay. If we are gonna stay here, someone _needs_ to take _him_ to that farm and get help. Or else he's gonna die." Dale ended, his hand pointing at the wavering built black man.

We all turned our attention to Daryl as he walked away and towards his motorcycle. He flipped open the cover and pulled a huge bag of narcotics out from the leather pouch and dropped them on the hood of a car.

"What is that?" I asked, walking over to the bag Daryl dug through.

I caught a bottle of the unknown medication Daryl threw at me. "Merle had a fuckin' stash of all this shit. Codeine, rock crack," he grabbed another bottle and threw it at Dale. "And some serious ass pain killers."

Dale nodded as he looked at T-Dog. The black man laughed, chuckling slowly as he shook his head slowly. "Man, I get a man killed and his shit is gonna save me."

I looked down at the bottle in my hands. "What is this for?"

Daryl looked in my hands and smirked. "Merle got the clap a lot." He turned and walked away with the rest of his bag and put it away in the leather pouch on his motorcycle.

Glenn walked over to me and took the bottle away, handing it back to Daryl before rubbing my shoulder. "I'm gonna take T-Dog to that farm."

I turned around to face him before looking between Carol, Dale and Daryl. I nodded slowly, looking away from the group and down at the hood of the car.

"Alright, we'll stay here and wait for Sophia." I pushed myself away from the car and walked up into the RV and ran towards the back room to open a closed door on a sleeping four year old who took a small shot of whiskey to knock her out.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. The best place for you is to be safe and I am not gonna be the one who's sorry at the end." I pulled the door closed and rubbed my forehead, shaking my head as I walked back out into the hot weather of Georgia.

…

I sat on the balcony rail of the farm house we were all subjected into going into. I pulled at my greasy hair, trying to release the stress that had built up in just a matter of half an hour. All I kept thinking about was Hailey; what had happened if she had gotten shot, if the bullet had flown through her small and young body. I couldn't stop thinking about how I could lose my daughter, about how I was going to lose her eventually with either me being killed or her being taken away from me.

"You better be thankful I haven't killed you, man!" Shane's muffled voice came from inside the home.

I shook my head as the setting sun beat down on my back, heating up the skin as my anger surged through-out me. I jumped off the rail and opened the screen door of the farm house, hearing the thin wood slam against the outside of the house, shaking the wall as I stormed through the foyer and into the kitchen where Shane was getting into the face of the big man who had shot Carl.

I grabbed a hold of his shoulders, pulling him back as the big man looked like he had just shit himself. "Calm down, Shane! We aren't gonna get anywhere if you fuck him up!" I walked him outside to get some fresh air, take a breather and hopefully calm down.

"Carl is hurt and this jack ass isn't doing anything to help him!" Shane shouted as soon as he got outside, his voice too loud for the quiet farm we were on.

"You gotta calm down, Shane! Blowing up isn't gonna save Carl's life!" I shouted back at him. I sat against the rail I was just at and rubbed my forehead while I closed my eyes.

The sound of the screen door opening made me look up to see the older gentleman, Herschel, and Rick come out, somber looks on their face. I pushed away from the rail and looked over at Shane who just kept shaking his head, whispering something to himself.

"He's stabilized." Herschel finally said, relieving the tension between the four of us. "But, the bullet has split into different parts. The shrapnel needs to come out and I can't do that unless I have the proper medical equipment." The older man looked at his hands as he wiped them in a crimson red handkerchief.

The bigger man who had shot Carl came out of the house and stood behind Rick and Herschel as we all dealt with the new information.

"Well, can you get them out?" Shane asked, silently pleasing for the doctor to say 'yes'.

"Not until I have all the equipment." Herschel solemnly replied.

"The nearest hospital went up in flames when the outbreak happened." The bigger man said, shying away as we all looked at him.

"He's right. There is a medical station over at the local high school…" Herschel started.

"They have that FEMA station there! I bet they have all the supplies we need." The big man walked in between Rick and the house and looked up at Herschel.

"You're correct. I need you to go get those supplies." Herschel grabbed a small black booklet from his pocket and opened it. He began to scribble a few notes as Shane and I looked at each other.

"He ain't goin' alone. I'm going with him." Shane spoke up.

"And I'm going also. The more manpower, the better of a chance we'll have to get more supplies." I nodded my head as I grabbed the pistol from my pant waist and checked the clip to see the amount of ammo I had left.

"That's even better." Herschel began, looking over to Rick. "You're staying right here. I need you for your boy, no walking more than fifty feet away." Herschel ripped out the paper from his small black book and handed it to the big man.

"Take care of this, Otis. I am depending on the three of you."

Otis nodded, looking at me and then shaking as he looked over at Shane.

Suddenly, a horse galloping caught our attention to see Herschel's daughter, Maggie, and Lori coming towards us at top speed.

Rick started down the stairs, watching as his wife dismounted the horse and ran towards him, asking him something while Rick nodded while catching her in his arms as she cried into him.

"Let's go. The faster we are, the faster we'll save Carl." I looked to Shane and Otis who nodded in agreement. We walked inside to get our gear to help save Carl.

It took us a few moments to get all of our things and into Otis' old light blue Ford. Otis drove as Shane sat in the passenger seat. I jumped into the bed of the truck, Shane's shotgun resting in between my legs and the backpacks we were gonna carry the supplies in around my feet. I knocked on the back glass separating the inside from me and watched as Shane turned around.

"You good?" He asked, muffled by the glass.

I gave a nod before looking the other way to look at Otis who looked at me. I saw a pack of cigarettes in his shirt pocket. My eyes went wide and a serene smile spread across my face. "Hey!" I knocked on the glass and towards his cigarettes.

"Care to spare?" I asked, watching his eyes look to the pack in his pocket.

He nodded before grabbing the pack and pulling out a bent cigarette and a box of matches. He rolled down his window and passed the bent cigarette and the matches to me. I gladly accepted and put the butt in my mouth before striking the match against the side of its box.

I pulled the fire to the end and sucked in a well-deserved puff of smoke. "It was supposed to be dangerous back then. Now, we just worry about dead people trying to eat us."

I heard Shane laugh as we took off, the sound of the old engine clunking around as we drove out of the farm.

…

I watched as Glenn drove away with Merle's old truck; T-Dog leaned against the passenger window of the old truck. I sighed as Hailey wrapped her arms around me, also watching as the two men drove away.

"Are you hungry?" I looked at her as she nodded at me, rubbing her eyes as she tried getting rid of the 'sleepies' she had. She never knew I drugged her for her to fall asleep, she never knew she had taken her first shot of brandy. Only four years old and she was already hung over.

"Come on, let's go get something to eat. Do you want Carol to fix you something?"

"Yes, please." She said sweetly.

Sometimes, you'd find a child who would use manners. In the apocalypse, you'd be grateful in having a miracle. I'm just glad Jason taught her better.

I walked up to the RV, listening to Carol as she tried to think where he daughter could be. "Hey Carol," I asked as I climbed the few steps.

She sniffled before looking over to me and wiped her eyes. "Yeah?"

"Would you help make something for Hailey to eat? She's a little hungry and I know this little girl would love a momma figure cooking a good meal." I smiled as I bounced her a little against my hip.

Carol smiled and nodded, standing up and walked towards us. She held her arms out for Hailey and the young girl gladly went into her arms. Carol can act 'mommy' right now; it's a chaotic world and we all need to stay on top of it. We can't be running around here acting like everything is normal; I'm not like that. I don't want to be like that.

I leaned against the counter of the RV, watching as Carol grabbed a small can of SPAM and opened it, drained the water before grabbing a small bowl and pouring an old bag of chips into it.

"So Andrea, you and Jason?" Lori looked over at me as she leaned against her hand with her back against the wall while sitting down in the small table seat. Compared to her even smaller body, it seemed you could fill three of her in the small bench.

"What do you mean?" I raised my eyebrow before I felt the blood rushing up my head.

"I mean, Jason only talks to you and you seem to always be around him." Lori gave a sly smile before looking at Hailey who ate the small block of meat like she had never eaten anything in her life.

"Nothing is going on. And I feel as if you're trying to make me feel bad about it." I rubbed my forehead before looking away to the driver's seat.

"I'm not trying to make you feel bad about it. I.."

"What? Are you gonna try and fuck him too when Rick isn't around?" I shouted at her, turning away and running right into Daryl who was standing at the bottom of the stairs of the RV.

"Nice language, woman. You kiss your momma with that mouth? Oh no, wait, she's probably _dead_." He grunted at me before turning away with his crossbow.

I shook my head, realizing how much I blew up on Lori. I wasn't in the mood to talk, I wasn't in the mood to even apologize to someone I didn't think deserved it. I didn't want this life; I want my old life back. I want to worry about law suits; I want to worry about why a woman was discriminated for her weight. I don't want to have to worry if I'll be able to eat tomorrow or if I'll have a semi-safe place to rest my eyes if only for an hour. I don't want to have to worry about a Walker ripping the tendons out from my neck and the soft muscle from my left arm.

I don't want to have Amy looking down at me as she cradles my head as the thoughts of humanity and the well-being of the world left me and the carnal thoughts of a Walker flood my mind.

I wiped the tears away from my eyes as I walked down the rest of the steps of the RV, ignoring the concerns from Lori and Carol.

…

I sucked in deep breaths to try and calm myself down. I looked at Shane who looked right back at me. His face was covered in sweat and fear and I bet mine reflected back the exact same look.

"How fucked are we?" Otis whimpered, he shook as he held his rifle against his chest.

"Oh, pssh! This is like taking a stroll in Wonderland while walking your bunny rabbit. How fucked do you think we are?" I rolled my eyes as I made him feel like a dumbass.

I wish it were only Shane and me doing this but now, we have extra baggage who could possibly give up at the first half mile mark with running.

I sighed heavily as Shane took a look behind him. "You ready?" He looked back at me and I slowly nodded, praying to a deity that may not exist, asking it to keep Hailey safe. "Please keep her safe," I whispered, closing my eyes as I leaned my head against the closed trunk of the car the three of us hid behind.

* * *

**A/N: Yay! Onto the high school! It's one of my favorite parts of the whole series; I think Shane's transition is an amazing one and I can't help but wonder what sort of trickery will happen now that Jason is with Shane and Otis. Well, please continue to read and I shall have it ready for you. Read it, love it or hate it. I'm not forcing you... Or am I?  
-Laania**


	5. Chapter Five

_****_**Author's Note: Okay, I totally messed up the last chapter and I feel like a dumbass for it. If any of you saw my big ass boo-boo, let me know in the review section, haha! I accidently added Lori to Andrea's rant in the last chapter even though the two previous paragraphs had Lori at the farm already and everyone knew it. Sooo... I'll be rewriting the chapter again a little bit later.  
Anyways!, I wanted to thank Kayce Skywalker and daughterofrisingsun for reviewing on Chapter Four and reedusandweep for reviewing on Chapter One. Alrighty guys, let's get those reviews rolling in because I really like seeing them and they make me really happy. Like, seeing Santa Claus at the mall even though you know he's not real kind of happy. Thanks guys and happy reading!**

**Disclosure: Blah, blah, blah... I don't own The Walking Dead... Blah, blah, blah...**

**Chapter Five**

_**I sighed heavily as Shane took a look behind him. "You ready?" He looked back at me and I slowly nodded, praying to a deity that may not exist, asking it to keep Hailey safe. "Please keep her safe," I whispered, closing my eyes as I leaned my head against the closed trunk of the car the three of us hid behind.**_

…

When you die, is it peaceful? Even if you're being ripped apart by the Blanks, do you feel it as you pass? Like a Wildebeest trying to escape from the hungry Lion as the Lion's teeth rip at its throat, does the Wildebeest even remember that pain when you finally die or does your brain send endorphins out into your blood stream to calm you down, to tell you 'sure, you may be dying but, let's shoot you up with some happiness before you go'?

Is that what you feel like? What if you were the Lion killing the Wildebeest; would you have any remorse for taking a life or is this world 'kill or be killed'?

I knew the answer as soon as that man's blood splattered all across my face and I knew right then and there that I wasn't the same man six months ago. I was cold, yet happy. Then I was unhappy, yet slightly crazed. I didn't want to be a father; I never wanted to have to look after a child. They were a burden; financially and emotionally. I made sure that every woman I slept with was either injected with that weird rod or they were infertile. I never slept with the celebrities the gossip magazines claimed because I knew that they were always taking prenatal vitamins, they were always trying to get pregnant because the more you get pregnant, the more money you get from doing interviews with those liars.

But, once I held Hailey in my arms for the first time, she looked up at me and she smiled at me. I swear, she may have been only a few minutes old but, she smiled up at me as if to say, 'you're supposed to protect me with all you've got'. It was when her mother was arrested for the umpteenth time for cocaine possession that they finally give me Hailey.

Hailey was only a few months old and her fucking whore of a mother was out snorting it up with the socialites of the Atlanta scene. Atlanta isn't as kind as it was in Los Angeles; if you were a celebrity and you had a gram or four on you, pssh, you were fine. Do a little community service and sign some autographs for the kids in the hospice and you'll be fine.

I treated Hailey like a princess, the way little girls are supposed to be treated. She was spoiled but, she was grateful for all she had. She never talked back, she never threw a tantrum in a store and she never once tried to give attitude. She wasn't like her mother; she was much more calm, much more loving and forgiving if I fucked up. She may have grown up with me for four years but, with all the publicity, all the scandals, she kept a calm head on her shoulders. She was too mature for her age.

Then, the outbreak happened and during the middle of the court proceedings I had to have with her mother, I was stuck in Los Angeles, trying so hard to get the next flight out and over to that hot ass city. Being who I was and having the kind of money I had, it was no problem buying every seat on that private jet to speed me over to Georgia.

Some people say the outbreak occurred rapidly, like a tidal wave across the entire globe but to me, it took forever. News flashes of a man walking the street eating the limb of a random person as it growled and moaned in the air. I laughed out loud as soon as I saw this. I was sitting on the couch in my living room with a bowl of popcorn in my lap; popping one kernel every few seconds and laughing as the news reporters were making such a big deal about it.

"It's fucking LSD!" I remember shouting, laughing as the people out in Florida freaked out, crying that the world was going to end. How could we have known, how could we have prevented everyone from turning? Where was the cure? Where was the asshole that created this goddamn disease that was going to kill my child?!

…

"Wake up!" Shane shouted at me. I held the handgun Shane had given me the first day I had arrived at their little make-shift camp. I checked the ammo before resetting the slide and resting my head against the wall again.

"What the hell were you doing? Taking a nap?!" Shane yelled at me, his rifle resting on his hip as he backed himself up to the wall as best as he could.

I looked over to my right and watched as Otis nervously kept his eyes away from the sight below us. I looked down and watched as the hands and struggles of the Blanks tried grabbing at us, pull us down and rip into us like the Lion to the Wildebeest. I backed up a tad bit more until my heels were touching the painted cinderblocks of the gym we were trapped in.

We must've looked like idiots standing on top of folded bleachers in a gym filled with hunger-ravaged zombies. Oh yeah, this was my dream vacation.

"Look! We have to get out of here either way and yelling isn't gonna make us go any faster!" I shouted back at Shane. I tried keeping my cool but, I was ever-so-slowly losing it.

Otis whimpered as he tried keeping himself on the six inch wide chunk of wood. I sighed as I realized all the dead weight we were carrying around with us.

"Alright," Shane started, his face covered in sweat as he kept his eyes on the Blanks just a foot away. "We're gonna jump."

"WHAT?!" Otis and I screamed.

"Just listen! Look, Jason, you head through that doorway, I'll keep cover on you."

"You want me to _jump_ into that swarm _down there_?!"

Shane gave it a moment to sink in. "Yeah."

"Man, you're fucked up. I have a kid back there and I don't want to have to become one of them for her to realize that her Daddy isn't coming back!"

Shane sighed as he moved his foot away from a Blank that almost grabbed his shoe lace. "Well? What do you want to do?"

I stood quietly for a moment before Otis grabbed my shoulder. "I'll do it. I hurt that little boy and I wanna see him live. You said you'll cover me?"

Shane and I stood in shock for a moment before we nodded our heads with the most dumb-founded look ever. "We both will." Shane spoke up first.

"Y-Yeah…" I agreed. I was shocked that this man, bigger than Shane and myself combined offered to jump _off_ a six foot, almost seven foot bleacher just so that we all could escape.

"Alright, cover me." Otis said with a voice of determination.

I cocked the handgun and aimed at the first three Blanks at Shane's right. "Come over here! That door over there isn't locked but, I bet you could block it from the other side and get them to run towards you. Jason and I will run up through those windows right there and drop to the ground."

I dropped to my knee so that Otis could climb around me to get to the other side. Shane followed suit and once Otis was at the edge, we started firing, nailing the first six Blanks that blocked the way.

Otis jumped off the side of the bleacher, landing hard and falling to his stomach. I pointed my gun at the closest Blank and pulled the trigger, watching as Otis tried scurrying away for the double doors hidden in the shadows.

"GO!" Shane said as he put his hand on my backpack and we both ran across to the other side of the bleachers. Shane shot his shotgun a couple of times as I bounded up the stairs, taking the butt of the gun and slamming it against the thin glass. I used my boot to clear out the remaining glass still left in the rubber hold and threw my backpack out the window.

I watched the pack fall about a good twenty feet, an easy fall I've done many times. "Come on!" I shouted at Shane as he rushed at me, tossing his pack out the window before beginning to climb out. "Hurry up, Shane! They're coming!" I watched as a couple of Blanks slowly tried climbing the stairs, their feet being dragged against each step which made them trip almost every time.

I heard Shane grunt as he finally dropped to the ground, a soft shout came from him as he rolled on the grass. "Are you okay?!" I shouted, already halfway out the window.

"Yeah, just perfect!" Sarcasm found its way out of his mouth as I held onto the edge of the window, easing myself down as my eyes never left the ground below me.

It seemed like a hundred feet separated me and the grass below and all I could do was to suck it up and drop.

Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed onto my wrists, holding me to the window I tried to let go of. The Blank showed itself and snarled as it tried to grab at my face, take me back in to shred whatever was left of me.

"Shit!" I grabbed for the gun I had put in the waist of my jeans, feeling the warmed metal against my back as the Blank snarled and chomped at the air, pretending it was already eating my living flesh. I grabbed hold of the gun and cocked it, aiming it at the head of the Blank that held onto me.

It came out of nowhere and I felt my life flash before my eyes. The Blank actually knocked the gun from my hand and I watched as it slowly fell down to Earth and landed with a soft thud. I looked up into the eyes of the demon, those pale white eyes just watching me with a hunger and hatred as I struggled to get free.

I pulled a hand back as hard as I could; feeling some of the glass left in the window slit my wrist as I did so. I balled up my fist and hit as hard as I could, beating the Blank back until he freed my other hand. I dropped from the window and landed on my ankle, hearing a small crack as the rest of my body collided with the hard ground.

"Fucking shit!" I screamed, my hands immediately going to my right foot as I cradled it and squeezed the bones and skin as hard as I could.

"Come on! We'll deal with it later!" Shane yelled at me, grabbing onto my shirt and pulling me up. He held me stand on my ankle as he started taking the backpacks. He handed me the lighter of the two and I slipped it on as quickly as I could, tightening the straps and sucking up the pain that was shooting all the way up my hip.

I started to walk the pain off then took off into a jog to where my gun had fallen. I grabbed it and followed Shane out of the fenced in yard and out into the what-looked-like abandoned parking lot.

"Where is Otis?" I asked as we continued jogging out.

"I don't know; let's just get to the truck and wait for him there." He whispered as we came across a small herd of Blanks, their bodies aimlessly walking and shuffling around.

We crouched down behind a fallen and tipped over trash can, watching as they kept to themselves… for the mean time.

"Where is the truck? And please don't tell me the other side." I whispered as the pain slowly numbed in my ankle.

"What? Are you scared or something?" Shane chuckled as he kept lookout for an opening, any pathway we could get through that they wouldn't get to us.

We stiffened as the snarls and growls of a Blank came from behind us. We spun around to see three of them just only two feet away. I grabbed the gun and cocked it but, their heads were already exploding like a firework on the fourth of July. Rotten blood splattered all over our faces as the bullets went through their deteriorating skulls and their bodies fell hard onto the pavement.

Otis stood there with his rifle smoking in his hand.

"Man, am I glad to see you." Shane sighed but, it didn't last for long.

The three of us looked over to the parking lot that was swarmed with Blanks and I felt my heart stop. They all turned towards us, their mouths open as they screamed and their hands in the air as they tried reaching for us even though we were seventy feet away.

"GO!" I shouted, jumping up. I high tailed it out of there whether they were with me or not. I turned to look to see Shane and Otis lagging behind, their backpacks weighing them down considerably. I slowed down and watched as Shane pulled Otis to keep up with him. Shane was trying to save Otis but, Otis didn't need saving.

I looked at the handgun in my hand, popping the magazine out and looking at the two remaining bullets. I felt myself die a little as I realized we weren't going to make it out alive, that either one of us or all of us were going to die right here, right now, tonight.

I sucked in a deep breath and slammed the magazine back in, hearing the click before I pulled the slide back. I ran back over to Otis and grabbed onto his shoulder, listening to him wheezing as he was running out of breath. "Give me your backpack!" I shouted at him, my face covered in sweat as thoughts were racing through my mind at unbelievable speeds.

"Come on!" I shouted again, watching as he nodded and he slipped off the back pack, his feet only carrying him so much and his person weighing us down.

He handed it over and I handed it to Shane before cocking my gun and pulling the trigger.

It felt like the world was running in slow motion; it felt like my heart was breaking and there was nothing I could do to stop it. All I heard was Otis screaming; cries of pain muting the Blanks running after us. I grabbed hold of his rifle before he could do anything with it.

Shane reached for the rifle as I handed it off to him. "OH SHIT!" Shane screamed, his hand bringing itself to his head as Otis latched onto him, taking Shane with him. Shane kicked Otis in the stomach causing Otis to rip the hair from Shane's head in a violent way.

"Come on!" I shouted for Shane as he put on the new backpack and jogged over to me. I was walking backwards, watching the scene unfold as if a movie was being played through my mind, letting me feel the pain and the feelings of the man who had just shot another man.

I was still walking; my eyes only on Otis as I pulled the trigger again, this time the last bullet went straight through his thigh. I watched as he fell to the ground, the Blanks slowly getting closer and closer.

"You mother fucker! I'll kill you, I'll fucking kill you!" He shouted at me, blood pouring from his mouth as he held onto his thigh, his screams heightening as the Blanks finally grabbing onto him and starting biting and shredding him apart.

"An eye for an eye! If Carl dies, you're going with him!" I shouted back, slowly walking backwards as I felt my body shake with adrenaline.

"If he lives, your 'contribution' saved him!" Shane shouted afterwards, his voice having a slight happiness in it.

I looked over to him the exact moment he looked at me. We both nodded and turned around, picking up speed until we hit a full run and saw the old sky blue Ford hidden in the lawn of the high school.

"You mother fuckers! You... – AAHHH!" That was the last thing Otis said to us before his voice box was eaten out of his throat.

…

I sat in the passenger's seat of the old blue Ford as Shane drove us back. What I thought was going to be a quiet ride turned out to be a ride of insanity. I don't know how many times I chuckled to myself, caught myself smiling as I realized I killed a human being. This wasn't the real world anymore; this was Hell and you have to survive whether you like it or not.

Shane caught a few moments of my lunacy and lightly punched my shoulder. He wore a smirk on his face, something I didn't expect from him. A former deputy to a Sheriff and a former movie star were sitting in an old truck, laughing about the murder they just committed.

"We can't tell them that story," I whispered as I leaned back against the straight seat.

"Yeah, I know." Shane replied quietly. He rubbed his face as he drove on the road back; he even flipped on the blinker as we turned onto the farm road.

I sighed deeply before nodding and looking up to the lit up farm house in the distance. "He sacrificed himself for us, for Carl. He knew he did wrong and he wanted to make it up to him."

The truck came to a halt in the front lawn at the patio; Rick, Lori and the older gentleman Herschel and his daughter were standing on the wood deck, their conversation halted as Shane and I gave one last look at each other before opening the doors and closing them quietly. We grabbed the backpacks from the bed; one in my hand, two in Shane's.

"Where is Otis?" Herschel spoke up first. His good-mannered and strict farmer's father voice was coming through loud and clear.

"He-…" Shane and I began but, as soon as we heard each others voices, we quieted down.

"He gave his life for Carl." Shane said quickly, his eyes cast down at the green grass under our feet.

Herschel gave a look around before slowly accepting and slowly nodding. "No one tells Patricia." He turned around and headed for the door. "I need her!"

Herschel and his daughter went back inside and I began to go up the steps with my backpack in tow for them. Suddenly, a soft hand touched my shoulder and I turned quickly to look at the offender. Lori stood there with her dark brown doe eyes looking up at me.

"Are you okay?" She asked but, her eyes said otherwise.

I knew that look, I knew that want, that desire. "I'm fine. How is Carl?" I pulled away just a tad so her hand wasn't touching me anymore. Her husband stood no more than six feet away talking to Shane about what had happened. Control yourself.

"He's lost a lot of blood. If it weren't for you-"

"And Shane."

"A-And Shane… Carl wouldn't have a chance. Thank you." She nodded before looking back at Rick then turning the opposite way and walking inside after Herschel and to her son.

I let go of the breath I never knew I was holding in. I looked down at Shane who glanced over at me. I went down to the two men and grabbed the two backpacks and jumped back up the stairs, opening the screen door and walking over to the room I remembered Carl being in.

I set down the backpacks at the doorway before turning away. But, before I could leave, I glimpsed at the horror lying on the bed. That little boy and all of his blood was covering the bed in what looked like a murder. I didn't see Carl's face; I didn't see Carl's blood. I saw Hailey and I saw her small body sprawled all over that bed and I saw her blood slowly but surely making its way out of her body.

What propelled me to leave wasn't my choice because I wanted to stay with my baby girl; I wanted to keep her safe. Shane's hands grabbed onto my shoulders and pulled me away, letting the woman named Patricia close the door so they could start the surgery.

"My baby…"

…

I sat on the porch steps watching the sun rise up over the thick pine trees and oaks that lined the farmland. Maggie, Herschel's daughter, handed me an unopened pack of Otis' old cigarettes. She didn't think he would need them anymore. I grabbed at the pack as the light slowly grew in the distance, waking the world to start another day of running, of trying to survive.

I struck the match against the side of the cardboard box it came in and quickly pulled it to the tip of the cigarette hanging from my lips. I sucked hard on that cigarette, feeling the smoke fill my lungs and the nicotine slowly invade my blood stream. I let go of the cigarette and breathed out, watching the smoke fly out of my mouth and up towards the heaven's where it'll pollute the world even more.

I heard the screen door open and listened as the footsteps stop behind me. I looked over to my left and watched as Maggie came and sat down next to me on the steps. "Have you been out here all morning?" She asked in her southern twang.

I nodded before taking another long draw of the cigarette. "Yeah, I couldn't sleep. My daughter is with the other half of our group."

She looked out towards the distance, her eyes never leaving the entrance to their farmhouse. "I liked that one movie you were in."

I looked at her quickly before chuckling and taking another pull of the cigarette. "Yeah? Which one?"

"Where it was you and that one actress that had a really funny break-up but, in the end ya'll still got back together."

I chuckled and shook my head, exhaling the smoke from my lungs. "'Just Like You'? Yeah, I liked that one too."

She didn't say much after that and I liked that. She respected that the world had gone to shit and she was prepared to ride through the storm.

"What about you? Did you do anything spectacular for the world before all of this happened?" I flicked the ash off the cigarette, taking another quick puff as she straightened and cleared out her throat.

"I didn't do what I wanted, if that's what you're asking. I went to college but, that was it. The world died right then and there and I came back home."

I nodded and looked back out to the farmland, the sun having risen halfway over the tree line already. "I'm sorry your sister lost her husband."

Maggie turned sharply to look at me. "Patricia? No, she isn't my sister; she's a helper here on the farm. She helps my daddy with anything when it comes to veterinary work."

"Oh…" I felt the blood rush to my face as I should have realized the huge gap of ages between her and Maggie.

I watched as Maggie pulled a handkerchief from her back pocket and handed it to me. "You've got some blood on your face."

I froze for only a second before thanking her and taking the thin fabric, rubbing my face where ever I thought the blood would be.

Suddenly, a motorcycle's engine brought us out of our conversation and to the entrance of the farm. I stood up and tossed my cigarette out, listening as the motor got closer and closer until Dixon appeared first, followed by the RV and Dixon's beat up blue truck.

I jumped off the patio and ran towards them, my right ankle still hurting from last night at the high school. I stuffed the handkerchief in my back pocket as Dixon, Dale and Glenn parked the vehicles and turned them off.

The RV door flew open and I saw my small angel jump down and take off into a run towards me. I was only about fifty feet away from her but, it felt like five miles separated the two of us. I watched as her eyes filled with tears and how hard she ran in her small shoes; her dress was flying in the wind and her hair echoed the same reaction as she pushed herself to keep running faster and faster towards me. I dropped to my knees and she landed against my chest with a hard thump. I held her against my with all of my might, vowing to never let anything separate us again. I swore my life on it.

* * *

**A/N: Aww! How sweet yet, really violent in the middle. How will killing Otis affect both Shane and Jason? Will everything turn out the way it should or will the darkness in them turn others against each other? FORESHADOWING. Anyways, review please. Love it, hate it or kill it with a stick on fire, it doesn't matter. Just do it.  
-Laania**


	6. Chapter Six

**Author's Note: I am back and I am alive! Sweet Jesus! But, only for a while. I've been in and out of the hospital for something in my gall bladder region that had been taken out months ago, I currently have a cold or the flu, whichever you think is cooler. But, it has given me the chance to sit down and write and my God has it been one hell of a story. I'm wanting to thank Kayce Skywalker, R. S. Carter, daughterofrisingsun, reedusandweep and random dude for reviewing the previous chapter. Thanks guys!  
****I hope you enjoy because I went through almost a whole roll of toilet paper just for this chapter and coughed my little smoker lungs out. Read and review, make me feel better!**

**Disclosure: Blah, blah, blah... I don't own The Walking Dead... Blah, blah, blah...**

**Chapter Six**

_**The RV door flew open and I saw my small angel jump down and take off into a run towards me. I was only about fifty feet away from her but, it felt like five miles separated the two of us. I watched as her eyes filled with tears and how hard she ran in her small shoes; her dress was flying in the wind and her hair echoed the same reaction as she pushed herself to keep running faster and faster towards me. I dropped to my knees and she landed against my chest with a hard thump. I held her against my with all of my might, vowing to never let anything separate us again. I swore my life on it.**_

…

The feeling of my daughter once again in my arms brought me back down to earth, or the Hell-ridden earth we now live on. Her body felt smaller in my arms as if I had gotten bigger or she shrank; so minute, so worthless in the universe we lived in. Please Andromeda, crash into us as fast as you can; end our lives now so we won't have to deal with the pain of being eaten alive.

"Daddy?" She managed to get out as I crushed her in my chest.

I pulled back to look at her face. Her oily hair was caught in the corners of her mouth and all I could do was imagine that we'd live through this and how beautiful she would be when she finally grew up. "Yeah, baby?"

"Mr. Dale wants to talk to you." She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hands as I stood up from my knees and looked to the RV door that was flung open. Andrea had already started walking; her blonde hair in a wrecked ponytail and with her straw cowboy hat trying to cover her eyes from the rising sun.

"Alright, baby. Come on." I grabbed her hand as I began to walk, my eyes only on Andrea as we passed by each other without speaking and no acknowledgment of each other.

What was wrong with her? Why is she acting like this? I shook my head and focused on the task at hand: Dale.

A hand caught my shoulder before I could walk up the RV steps. "Hey," Dixon looked up at me before motioning over with his head to follow him. I looked at Hailey as she trotted up the steps and disappeared into the dark traveling truck.

I followed him for a few seconds before we stopped next to the motorcycle he rode in on. "Yeah?"

He looked around before shouldering his crossbow. "I don't know what kind of shit you're tryin' to pull but, I wouldn't trust Andrea with a fuckin' stick."

My eyebrows dropped and furrowed as I looked at him and changed my stance to a more aggressive position. "I don't know what _you're_ trying to pull, Dixon but, I haven't trusted you since you aimed that weapon at me and my daughter." I breathed out as I felt my heart speeding up, the adrenaline soaring through my veins for the hatred I had for this man.

We had just gotten onto the right foot and now he wants to start drama? "Andrea was taking care of my daughter while I helped Rick, Shane and Carl."

"That's the thing: you trusted her." He scoffed as he walked around to the other side of the bike and straddled it, turning it on and driving up the ways to a grouping of trees a good distance away.

"Hey Jason?"

I spun around as Dale stuck his head around the side of the door and waved me over. I nodded and looked back to Dixon as he turned off the bike and jumped off, his back towards me as he began to set up his small camp. What did he mean by 'I trusted her'? I can't deal with this shit now; I've got more important things to worry about.

I jogged over to the RV steps and climbed them quickly, watching Hailey eat a few pieces of jerky and a half-empty water bottle in front of her. "Hey, you needed to speak with me?"

Dale stood by the bathroom and waved me over into the bedroom, closing the door as soon as I walked in. "I need to talk to you about Andrea."

He too? What the fuck was going on. I raised a brow before he told me to sit across from him on the other bed opposite of his. "What's going on, Dale?" My voice was even, straight, no hint of emotions just yet until I figure out why Dixon _and_ Dale both came to me.

"I don't know how to tell you this but," he said deeply before pulling off his fisherman's cap and rubbing his forehead from the sweat that covered it. Six o'clock in the morning and Georgia was already 97 degrees.

"Spit it out, Dale." I was getting restless. Stop dragging it on!

"Andrea drugged Hailey last night."

I stopped breathing.

My hands clenched the dirty cotton of my jeans.

My shoulders dropped as my head followed to look at the old brown carpet. Five words, just five words shook me to my core and brought reality to existence. My mind was racing, flashing all these ideas on how she did it, how Hailey took it from her or how she could have forced her to take it.

"W-What?" I was breathless, my vision tunneling as I kept my eyes on the horrible brown '70's carpet under my boots.

"My bottle of brandy was missing a good amount when I went to bed this morning from look-out. Daryl let me know when he was coming to take over for me so I could get some rest. He passed by and watched as she mixed it with the powdered milk I had left over for some unknown reason." He stopped as he looked into my eyes. He must've seen the hurt, the pain, the guilt and the anger I had brewing just underneath the surface of my skin.

I felt my head pounding as I brought my hands up and grabbed at my hair, pulling it to relieve some tension as I boiled in rage.

"I'm sorry, Jason."

That was it. I blew.

"You're sorry?!" I stood up and shouted at him. "My daughter was drugged last night and you're _sorry_?!"

The door flew open and Carol ran inside, her small frame hiding against the door as she looked at the two of us with fear in her eyes. "Jason?"

"Did you know?! Did you know that that fucking whore drugged my daughter?!" I yelled at her.

She shrank away, her shoulder shielding her face as she ducked. "Y-Yes…" She whispered.

I watched as her cheeks reddened, her eyes swelling with tears as she nodded whilst shaking. I felt the anger leave my body as she looked up at me with her light hazel eyes peering through her blonde lashes.

"Why didn't you do anything? My daughter, what would have happened if she hadn't woken up? Brandy for a four year old is like meth to me. It could have killed her; alcohol poisoning! I know enough from my partying days to know what that feels like and how you have to get your stomach pumped! I've seen my friends go through that… But, my daughter…"

I dropped back down to the bed and put my face in my hands before I took in another deep breath to calm myself down. "I'm sorry if I yelled at you." I looked back up to Dale and Carol who had looked away with shame. "I didn't know someone could be so careless and horrible to a child."

I wiped at my eyes before I watched Carol turn around to see Hailey at her hip, looking in on the adults and her father yelling about something.

"Are you okay, Daddy?"

Her voice; how could I live without that voice? How could I go on knowing someone, whom I had trusted, drugged my child? I looked over at her. What could she have been staring at? How clueless I looked, how my eyes were wide with disbelief that she was standing right here in front of me, watching as I did nothing but look back at her.

"I-I… I'm fine, baby." I whispered. She shook her head 'no' as she pushed past Carol and ran into my arms, holding onto me.

"It's okay, Daddy. Everything will be okay." Her small arms wrapped around my neck and hung on tight.

…

I started down the stairs of the RV and caught sight of Dixon coming out of the farm house. He must've seen me because he turned away as soon as I started walking towards him.

"Look bitch, you better be apologizing or I'mma knock you on your ass for even comin' near me." His back was towards me as I came into his 'camp'.

"You were right." I stopped under the tree branch he decided to hang a jacket on.

His head turned a bit to look at me out the corner of his eye. "That didn't sound like no apology to me." The sound of a knife being peeled against a rock filled in the awkward silence we were sharing.

"We may have our differences, Dixon but, I just wanted to say, 'you were right'." I turned around and pulled the cigarette pack from my back pocket and pulled the butt to my lips, striking the match against my jeans and lighting the end. I sucked in a deep breath and exhaled, watching the smoke pour out of my mouth and start to drift into the sky with the wind.

"I'd offer you one but," I shrugged my shoulders as I turned to look back at him. "You ain't worth my time." I smirked as I walked away and flicked the first sign of ash with the nail of my thumb.

…

"We're gathered under the oak tree Otis planted five years ago when he first started working on my farm. Otis was kind, thoughtful of others and most of all, courageous for what he did for Carl Grimes." Herschel began quietly as the sun set behind us. Shane and I stood next to each other, composed as we looked at the mound of rocks built to look like a memorial.

"Otis loved his wife, Patricia, and he loved to work. He never once missed a day." A few people chuckled quietly at the small but, loving joke. "Thank you, Otis, for doing what you did and giving your life for a little boy you barely knew. You are brave and may the hands of God heal you of all your wounds."

"Amen." The group said in union.

"Shane, Jason, would you say something about Otis? Let me know what his last moments were." Patricia spoke up.

I turned from the mock gravestone to Shane who looked at me at the same time. The gears in our heads were turning, working over-time as last nights memories started going through our minds like an 18-wheeler going seventy towards a wall.

"I-I..." I stuttered, unable to figure out what to say. My tongue wasn't connected to my brain and everything inside of me begged to say something, anything.

"We don't know what to say." Shane spoke for us, calmer than I was as he tried stalling for time, for us to figure out what kind of lie we were going to make up.

"Please," Patricia begged. Maggie held her as she looked like a wall about to crumble. Her eyes were red-rimmed and visible even in the little light left by the setting sun. "I wanna hear how my husband di... died." She cried into Maggie's chest who held her close, shushing her to keep face in her most desperate hour.

I stood up straight and looked back to the large pile of rocks that marked as Otis' gravestone. "He told us to run, to save that little boy."

Everyone turned to me as I kept my eyes on the mound. I didn't move, I didn't breathe, I didn't break down and I didn't care.

"He said, 'save him, it's my fault he's like this'. He-he... He told us he'd hold them off as long as he could." Shane looked around at everyone, giving them our 'story' as the seconds passed.

"He told us to get the truck and meet him over on the other side. He said... He said he would lead them away while we got the supplies to the truck. I-I..."

I placed my hand on Shane's shoulder as if to give some sort of display of compassion and sympathy. "To Otis."

"To Otis." The group replied quietly and one by one, they walked away to what they were gonna do before they were dragged here, not by force but by guilt.

I dropped my hand from Shane's shoulder and turned away and up the hill behind us to go for a walk. A small hand slipped into mine and I smiled as Hailey looked up at me. I pulled her up and held her against my hip as we walked around the farm for awhile.

"Mr. Shane shaved his head." She spoke so calmly, so much more mature than what her true age was.

I chuckled as I shook my head and ran my hands through my own hair. I hadn't noticed at all, amazingly enough. "Maybe it was _really_ hot and he couldn't take it anymore."

"No... I don't think so."

"Well, are we going to investigate why he shaved his head?"

Hailey looked away and at Dixon who was coming back from the tree line with a string of squirrels and a rabbit hanging from it. "Look! Mr.. Daryl!" Hailey squirmed in my arms for me to drop her.

I shook my head with unease as I put her down and watched as she took off for the redneck. He didn't seem to pay her no mind at all as she ran over to him and began badgering him. Rather him than me, I guess. I pulled a cigarette out of it's pack and lit it up as I walked over to the two of them, my eyes set on Dixon as he ignored Hailey and all of her questions.

I pulled the pack out of my pocket and pulled another cigarette out, putting it in front of Dixon. His eyebrows dropped as he looked from the cigarette then to me.

"Tryin' to make a peace treaty or something?" He put the squirrel and rabbit line on the branch of the tree, letting it hang there as he walked over to me.

I looked at him before looking back to Hailey then back at him. I nudged the cigarette a little more towards him before he turned and looked at my daughter, his head slightly shaking as he grabbed at the cigarette and put it in between his lips. I grabbed the box of matches too slowly for his taste and heard him strike the flint of the lighter and pull the flame to the end.

I sucked in a deep drawl before pulling the cigarette back and flicking the ash off. The sky seemed so lively as the sun sank behind the tree line of the farm, making me question if this was reality or not. Could we be in experiments where they took our minds and gave us these scenarios to see which would live or die first?

"I'm sorry about earlier. I'm a man so, I'll apologize like one. You were right though."

I heard Dixon chuckle as he took a drawl of his cigarette and slowly blow the smoke out of his lungs. "Bitch ain't worth it; thinks she's all bad ass 'cuz she got a gun. Bet she don't even know how to work it."

I smirked and shook my head. I looked over to him just to see him out of the corner of my eye. "I've noticed how much Hailey likes spending time with you."

"I ain't gonna be no one's baby sitter." He shot back with defensiveness lacing his voice.

I rolled my eyes before looking away again, crossing my arms before letting out a sigh. "I wasn't going there. I was gonna say 'thank you' for looking out for her. Maybe she could learn a thing or two from you." I turned to Hailey and called her over, watching as she sighed and started her slow walk to me.

"Come on, shorty. Let's go give you a bath." I lightly touched the back of her head to send her in the direction of the farm house.

"I ain't gonna be no one's teacher either." Dixon said as I walked Hailey back.

I pushed her a tad to walk on without me as I spun around and came up towards him. "I'm not asking anything of you and I will never ask anything from you." I seethed, my teeth clenched as Dixon stood his ground. "Be grateful these people haven't kicked you from the group. You haven't done a single good thing for them and you never will. I'm trying to apologize for how rude I've been and make amends for our conflicts together but, I'm not gonna stoop so low as to beg for your friendship. Get over yourself, you're acting like a woman."

I turned away before he could say anything back and caught up with Hailey who had stopped to watch Dixon and me.

…

"Morning Sunshine." A woman's voice woke me and I sat up in fear if something had happened.

Maggie. She was standing above me with her hands on her hips as she blocked the sun from my view. "You slept on the bench outside again."

I grunted as I wiped my eyes, waking myself up fully before starting the day. "Where is Hailey?"

"With Beth. The two of them are doing something, must be to keep her occupied." She sighed and looked away towards the sound of the screen door opening.

I looked in her direction and saw Glenn fixing his baseball hat on his head. "Hey Jason, you're awake." He smiled and walked over towards me.

I nodded and stood, cracking my spine along the way. "God, that felt good."

Glenn smiled before shifting and stuffing his hands in his pockets. I lifted an eyebrow and he coughed in awkwardness. "Uh, well, Maggie and I were gonna go into town to find some supplies. You wanna come?"

"Sure, let me tell Hailey where I'm going and I'll be right down." I rubbed through my hair, the cleanliness of it making me smile. Herschel had let Shane and I take showers after Otis' memorial service and it was the most amazing feeling I had ever had. The way the hot water fell down my chest and back, stretching out all of the muscles like God's hands were working a miracle on me. I brought Hailey in as soon as I was done and gave her the best bath she had had all of her tiny and fragile life.

She jumped up and down and sang lullaby's as if they were pop songs someone sang before the world died. Her hair looked so much more radiant as soon as she was done and all the dirt around her face and neck were gone in a flash. I dressed her in some of Maggie's old clothes she had when she was a child. Clean clothes, a warm bath and a little meal; what more could we be thankful for?

I trotted up the stairs and followed the laughter to a room off to the side. I knocked on the door before looking in and smiling at the sight before me. Hailey and Beth had a few old dolls on the bed they sat on.

"What are you two up to?" I chuckled as I leaned against the door frame.

"Beth has dolls, Daddy!" Hailey held up three dolls up in her hand and waved them in the air for me to get a better look at them.

"They are quite beautiful, baby." I smiled before she looked back at Maggie and handed one off to her. "I'm gonna go run an errand with Glenn and Maggie. Are you okay here playing with Beth?"

I looked to Beth for the answer and she nodded with her quit demeanor. "We'll be okay." She gave a soft smile before I looked back to Hailey. Hailey was paying no attention to me anymore; the love of the dolls overcoming any sort of relationship we ever had.

"I'll be back." I smiled before walking back down the stairs and to the waiting pair of Glenn and Maggie. "Let's do this."

…

I rode on one horse while Glenn and Maggie rode together on another horse. "You know, Glenn, I can let you ride this horse with me."

Glenn looked to me and shook his head, giving me the look as if to 'shut up'. I chuckled while we trotted into the small town. The sound of the horses hoofs hitting the asphalt underneath us made us jumpy, especially me as I held onto a machete Lori let me borrow.

"We get off here." Maggie said quietly and quickly.

I slowly pulled the reins of the horse and felt the sudden stop. I swung my legs over the side and and looked around the abandoned town.

It was quiet, too quiet, the kind of quiet you'd only suspect in a horror movie right before the villain shows up right before they kill the main character. I held tight to the machete in my hand and followed Maggie as she walked into a store with a large sign reading 'Take What You Need and GOD BLESS'. Thanks...

I followed the Glenn as he walked inside second, his machete in his hand that curved into a hook on the other side of the blade.

"Alright, let's get in and get out. I don't wanna be here any longer than necessary." I said quietly as I looked around, seeing nothing of interest. I sighed before turning and looking out into the street from the windows. My eyes shot open and I smiled before turning to Glenn.

"There's a small grocery store down the way. I'm gonna go see if I can find anything useful." I opened the door as quietly as I could, leaving Glenn and Maggie behind in the pharmacy.

I walked down the pavement as quietly as I could, listening for the snarls or growls of any Blanks walking around. Any shuffling of the feet would be a good indication to hide or to run, if it came down to that. You never wanted to leave a Blank alive, not in the end. Something could happen and when you least expect it, it sneaks up on you, takes you and looks into your eyes as if to say, 'I won, you should've killed me'.

I shook my head and ran down the street to the small grocery store and put my back up against the red brick wall. Weeds had grown around the building through the cracks of the sidewalk, showing the poor workmanship of the town. In Los Angeles, you would have never seen such bad sidewalks; Mexicans are the best at laying down the concrete and I'm sure as hell this town had never seen a Mexican before shit hit the fan.

I let out a deep breath before looking into the buildings long pane window to see if it was empty of any Blanks. I was wrong. A woman was slumped over the counter with what looked like a tire iron plunged through her body and into the wooden counter she lay on. Someone had nailed her there, probably ignorant that they don't die just from a gun shot or a tire iron through their torso; they needed their brain to stop working and finally die.

I rushed to the door and opened it carefully so she wouldn't start moving around and growling, calling others if she could. I closed the door and locked it, hoping that would keep some of them out if they came towards me. I looked up at the windows and shook my head; they could easily break them and get in. Pretty smart, Jason.

I shook my head before holding up my machete and steadying my breathing, her head was my target. I pulled the machete up and brought it down swiftly on her head, ending her 'life' quickly as I chopped away at her skull; the sour and rotten blood flying back into my clean shirt and spotting my face.

After I knew she was down for good, I wiped the machete on her ruined sun dress and hurried to a wall covered in canned goods people usually turned away from. Chickpeas, green beans, peas, kidney beans; everything you could think of covered the walls in perfect condition. What the hell was going on? How could these people not take these necessary and vital foods to help you survive?

I reached for my backpack and pulled it over my shoulder, tossing in the canned gold I just found. This was amazing, like a dream almost! I stopped putting cans into my back when I thought about the most recent train of thought that just passed through my head. What if this was a dream?

Fuck it.

I put all the cans I could carry and zipped the pack closed, standing up with the thirty pounds extra on my shoulders. I walked around and investigated the rest of the shelves just in case. I looked to my right and saw something catch my eye and as soon as I saw it, I smiled.

I walked over and picked it up, turning it in my hands all the while paying no attention to anything around me. It was a doll still in it's box. The doll was a Barbie and her bright blonde hair fell neatly down her back. She wore farmer's clothing and had a toy pig that was supposed to be her friend. I smiled before pulling my pack off again and stuffing it in there.

Suddenly, the sound of glass shattering caught my attention. I stood up quickly and looked around; nothing. I lowered my brows and picked up the pack, shouldering it and running to the door, machete at the ready. The extra thirty pounds was weighing me down, taking all the precious energy I just had and kicking it out the door I was about to go through.

The sound happened again and this time, angry groans and snarls filled the back of the grocery store. "Fuck." I whispered, unlocking the door and running out. I stopped quickly before I ran into three Blanks to my right who were running towards the horses that had been strapped to the fence that lined the pharmacy Glenn and Maggie were still in.

Holy shit: Glenn and Maggie.

I ran as fast as I could with the cans towards the horses, trying to save them before they were killed. "HEY! HEY!" I screamed, distracting them to come towards me. One turned around and growled as soon as it saw me, starting off in a crawl before speeding up into a sprint.

I grit my teeth before doing the same. I charged at him with my machete held high, aiming at his eye level. Before we got too close, I swung the machete down and to the right, slicing the head in half all the while getting my machete stuck in the skull. I pulled the machete back, the sound of the metal on bone made an eerie sound, like a rock being pulled against a metal table.

"MAGGIE! GLENN!" I shouted as I rushed forwards for another that had turned towards the commotion the first Blank and I had.

The door of the pharmacy pulled open to show Glenn come out first, his hair a wreck as he ran towards the third Blank who already started ripping into the horse. I turned my attention back to the Blank in front of me, it's milky yellow eyes looking only at me, it's future prey.

I pulled my machete to the side and once the Blank got near me, I swung to the left, taking off it's head and watching as the body fell down and the head fly the other direction.

"Let's go!" I shouted before running towards the hurt horse, it's side ripped into and the blood quickly running out.

"Just leave it! More are comin'!" Maggie shouted as she put on her cowboy hat and jumping onto the back of the horse that was still safe.

I watched as Glenn and Maggie fixed themselves before I nodded and ran to them. I grabbed a hold of Glenn's hand and pulled myself up onto the back of the horse. The horse neighed and bucked, knocking me off and causing me to land back first on the cans I had in my pack.

"Fuck!" I shouted, rolling over and tried standing up.

"Come on, Jason! We can't wait any longer!" Glenn shouted, his hand out for me to grab again.

I looked behind me, the herd from the grocery store was breaking the doors and windows, succeeding and slowly making their way out. I shook my head and pulled the pack off, throwing it to Glenn.

"Take it back! I can make it back later!" I shouted, my eyes still on the Blanks snarling and growling as they raced for us. "I can make it back but, the horse can't carry the three of us! Don't worry about me!" I shouted again before taking off in a sprint towards the front of the town we came out of.

The sound of the horses hoofs hitting the asphalt came up behind me and stayed with me and Maggie kept the horse at my speed. "It can carry you! You're gonna get yourself killed!" She shouted, her eyes focused on the road.

"We've all been dead! We just haven't given up!" I shouted before taking a sharp left and ran through an alley way of two big buildings, the sight of a park coming up towards me.

I ran as fast as I could, my legs beginning to burn as I jumped over the small fence that lined the park. I searched around me for anything, something that could move. Cars had been abandoned and for good reasons no doubt.

I breathed heavily as I kept running, my feet appreciating that it was now on grass from the park instead of asphalt. I kept my eyes open and heard Maggie screaming from a distance, calling for me to come back. I shook my head and kept running, an SUV coming into sight.

"Oh, thank God." I breathed out. I quickened my pace before looking back, a lone Blank having followed me but, still far enough away to not be in any danger.

I ran to the SUV, the black paint shining against the noon sun. I finally came to it, my hands grabbing onto the passenger side handle and pulling it open, thanking what ever deity was up there for the good luck. I climbed in quickly, looking into the backseat and seeing it empty, spotless even. I slammed the passenger door closed before crawling over the middle console and into the drivers seat.

"Of course, no keys." I sighed and decided to catch my breath, looking out the tinted window as the Blanks came closer. "Time to go!" I whispered, pulling the lever for the seat and sliding backwards into the back row. I slunk down and pulled open the panel under the steering column and looked for the cylinder that was the steering column and the wires connecting it were exposed.

I sighed and separated the wires carefully so I couldn't shock the shit out of myself. I grabbed the three different sets of wires and grunted, yelling at myself for forgetting how to do this. I shook my head and took the wire on the far right and taking the tip of the machete and ripping open the plastic casing. I grabbed at another wire and did the same, pulling the plastic back and touching the two together. It sparked violently but, the SUV started and came to life.

I laughed loudly, smiling at myself as I carefully pulled the plastic down and covered the bare wires. Suddenly, loud banging on the windows pulled me out of my joy. I covered the cylinder with the panel and jumped back into the seat, putting the SUV in 'Drive' and hit the gas, listening as the tires turned without traction. Suddenly, it jumped to life and took off, running over three Blanks in the process.

"Yes!" I shouted with excitement, aiming the front of the SUV at the fence that I had jumped over just a few moments before. I leaned back into the seat and turned onto the road that left the town, the sight of Maggie and Glenn on the horse a good distance away making my heart beat once again.

…

I jumped out of the SUV and landed easily on the grass below. I closed the door and smiled as Hailey ran down the stairs of the farm house and towards me, jumping into my arms.

"Nice work back there, Cowboy." Maggie said as she walked over to me, my pack in her hands.

I smiled and let go of Hailey, grabbing the pack from her. "You gotta think on your feet sometimes."

"That wasn't thinking, that was luck." Glenn came up and patted me on the shoulder, congratulating me.

Rick started for us and I nodded before he got there. I dropped to my knees and opened the pack, looking down at the gift I got for Hailey.

"Alright kid, I got something for you but, you gotta close your eyes, okay?" I rested my arms on my thighs as Hailey giggled and covered her eyes, shuffling her feet with excitement.

"Here you go!" I smiled and held up the boxed doll, watching as she pulled her hands down and giggled, screaming with joy as she grabbed the doll and jumped up and down.

"Thank you, Daddy!" She shouted and then ran away from me, up the stairs and probably to Beth's room to show her.

"Jason," Rick's voice sounded and I looked over the hood of the SUV to see him coming towards me.

"Rick," I acknowledged back. I zipped the pack and pulled it over my shoulder.

"How did everything go?" He stopped in front of me and put his hands on his hips.

"Everything went fine. Lost a horse, gained three hundred more." I smiled as I patted the side of the SUV.

"Good, let me know if you need anything more." Rick nodded before turning away and walking back to Lori who stood on the porch.

I looked to Glenn who just shrugged his shoulders. "Oh! I forgot. I gotta do something." Glenn started jogging to Rick but, turned to Lori before handing something off to her. She looked around and her eyes landed on me. She looked scared and then quickly walked inside the house, closing the screen door after her.

I shook my head before walking away from Maggie and towards Carol who was starting to get things ready for dinner. "Hey," I said as I came up behind her.

She turned quickly and looked at me with her small hazel eyes. She gave a weary smile before wiping sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "Hey."

I slid the pack off and let it hit hard on the wooden picnic table, the sound of the cans clanking against each other made her eyes focus only on the source of the noise.

"What's that?" She asked carefully, looking between the pack and me.

"It's heaven in a bag. Open it, come on." I smiled before she took in a deep breath and wiped her hands on her jeans.

She hesitated for only a moment then, took the metal zipper and pulled it down, revealing the gleaming tin cans inside. "Oh, my gosh. What is all of this?"

"I found it, for all of us. Here," I reached in and pulled a can of chickpeas. "I can show you how to make a great hummus if you got olive oil and some salt." I gave her a smirk as I handed the can to her and watched as he eyes lit up.

"This is amazing. I can't believe you found this." Carol reached into the pack and started pulling cans upon cans of food from the pack.

"When you're done, just give me my bag back, okay?" I smiled before taking off, my goal right in front of me.

I stopped right behind her, watching as she worked on something unimportant to me. "We've gotta talk."

I grabbed her by her wrist and started pulling her behind me. I got to the SUV and opened the passenger door, putting her in despite her refusals. I ran to the other side and started up the SUV with a screw driver I found and took off back down the dirt road and out onto the street where I got up to speeds of 70 mph.

"Where are you taking me?! I'll kill you if you try doing anything!" She yelled at me, her hands gripping onto the console between us.

"Shut up!" I shouted back at her, watching as she slunk back into the seat. I hit the brake and waited for the vehicle to stop before putting it into 'Park'. I opened the door and walked over to her side, opening the door and pulling her out.

"Let go of me!" She pulled away and reached for her back, her gun most likely.

"Looking for something?" I held up her silver hand gun and watched as her reaction went into panic mode.

I threw the gun into the grass on the other side of the road, her eyes following her lifeline. I grabbed her by her shoulder and pushed her body up against the black painted side of the SUV.

"You listen to me and you listen to me good," I started, my face a mix of anger and pain. "You _ever_ try to drug my child again and I won't hesitate to kill you!" I seethed, pressing my hands harder into her small frame.

"I didn't drug her!" She screamed back, trying to loosen the grip I had on her.

"Then why did Dale and Carol come to me and say that? Why would they say something like that?!" I shouted, closing in the distance between us, wanting to hear her reasoning.

"I didn't drug her! I gave her some brandy to help her fall asleep!" She cried out, her face reddening as she tried her best to get out of my hold.

"You could have killed her! You could have killed my only reason for existing!" I pushed her away and let her go, watching as she stumbled away.

She dropped to the ground, her hands bringing up her knees to her chest. She cried into them and shook her head. "I didn't do anything wrong! I knew what I was doing!"

I wiped my face and looked away from her, the anger slowly slipping away. "How much did you give her?" I asked her quietly.

"What?"

"How much did you give her?!" I shouted this time, dropping into a crouch in front of her.

"I gave her only a enough to cover the bottom of the glass. That was it!" She shouted back, backing up as I got into her face.

"Why was there more missing?" I asked, much more calmer than before.

"I took... I took a few shots. I was upset, I still am and you're making it worse!"

"Stop blaming other people for your problems!"

"But it is someone else I should blame! The Walker that killed my sister, that killed _my_ existence for living!" She shouted at me, her cheeks red and covered with tears as she cried harder.

I sat back and took a good look at her with real feelings. I shook my head and listened as she cried incoherently about that Walker and her sister. I felt idiotic, stupid but, for good reasons. I got her to tell me the truth but, I also learned an ugly secret she was trying to hide from everyone, including Dale who was the one person she could trust.

"I'm sorry about your sister." I said, moving over to sit next to her.

I put my arms around her and let her cry, comforting her and calming her to let her get everything off her chest that she had been carrying for so long.

"I don't wanna live anymore! I want to make my own choices, not have other people make them for me!" She managed to get out, her hands grabbing onto my shirt and gripping onto the fabric as hard as she could.

I shook my head and thought of the only thing I knew what to do in this situation. I didn't want to and I didn't want for anything to happen after wards but, it was the only way to get her to calm down. I reached for her chin with my fingers and gently picked it up so her sad blue eyes were looking at me. I leaned in and put my lips on hers, silencing her cries.

* * *

**A/N: Holy shit, what a great chapter. Got some Daryl (my husband who doesn't know it yet), Glenn and Maggie action and some _Andrea_ action?! What?! Read and review and tell me if you loved it, hated it, wanna tear it to shreds and throw it into the Arctic Ocean. Do it. Cuz I'm sick and I need reviews to make me feel better. =)  
-Laania**


	7. Chapter Seven

**Author's Note: I am such a horrible person and I apologize for not posting quicker. College had gotten in the way and I was furious to know that I was disappointing everyone who reads this story. Thank you though for those who are going to read this and review; you're the people I want to give huge hugs to because I know how amazing you are. So! Now that I've poured my small and cold heart out, here is chapter seven and I promise chapter eight will come quicker than expected... because I've actually written the premise of it out... Here you go! Please read and review! Thank you! Oh, and P.S., I have created a facebook page that will be given updates and all that shit. It's facebook dot com forward slash jason and hailey knight. Thank you!**

**I would like to thank Emberka-2012, Kayce Skywalker and reedusandweep for reviewing! Thanks guys!**

**Disclosure: Blah, blah, blah... I don't own The Walking Dead... Blah, blah, blah...**

**Chapter Seven**

**_I shook my head and thought of the only thing I knew what to do in this situation. I didn't want to and I didn't want for anything to happen after wards but, it was the only way to get her to calm down. I reached for her chin with my fingers and gently picked it up so her sad blue eyes were looking at me. I leaned in and put my lips on hers, silencing her cries._  
**

It didn't happen like the movies said it would and it certainly didn't show up in any of the stories I had read to Hailey when she was growing up. It just happened. Like a lightning bolt somehow coming from the heavens to grace the earth with its presence, it just happened. It didn't feel like fate, it didn't feel like destiny; it just felt like a bad kiss and that was all it would become.

The drive back to the farm was quiet and Andrea kept her eyes looking out the window from the time she got in until the time she got out. Now, I've been around women who have been reserved and mature but, whenever I had kissed them (to just shut up), they had thrown themselves on me, taking their hands and running them down my body as I seemingly tried to protest but, would just give in to the immense pressure… yeah right.

But, it didn't happen like that with Andrea. She just… was there. She didn't do anything other than pull away and look at me. It was weird, complicated and I didn't know what the fuck I had just gotten myself into. Kissing Andrea was like jumping into a pit of rattle snakes and they just look at you like, 'what are you doing in the pit? Don't you see it says, DANGER?' I saw the 'DANGER' sign and I saw the complicated mess I could have just started.

"No one needs to know what happened." I said softly, ignoring my brain as my mouth just opened up and spilt the beans everywhere. I looked to her for an answer, a sign that she understood what I said and that I was coming in loud and clear.

Nothing. It was like she didn't care and that point in time and you know what? Neither did I.

…

"This is a map here of the town and twenty miles from where we… are." Maggie said as she pointed to a point on the map she had laid out on the hood of my new SUV. "The highway ya'll were on is right here and the church Rick said ya'll found is right here." Maggie continued pointing to little areas around the map, discussing with everyone that the town and the farm is no more than three miles away.

I sighed and squinted from the bright light that came from behind the clouds. I could deal with the sun being out and burning my skin but, when the clouds act like a magnifying glass and brighten absolutely everything, you begin to look a little Asian.

"Jason," Rick called out.

I walked towards Rick who was huddled over the map with Shane next to him. "I want you to take this side of the creek. Daryl will be on the other side and over here." Rick moved his hand around a section of the woods and opposite where I was supposed to be.

"That's fine. I'll go ahead and take Hailey with me also; she needs to get out from that house." I chuckled and wiped my forehead of the sweat. "That's a first."

Shane patted my back and chuckled also. "Rick and I are gonna be teachin' everyone else how to fire a gun. It'll help keep them safe if worse comes to worse."

"Sounds good. Everyone be back before sundown." Rick closed the forum and took the map away, rolling it up and handing it back to Maggie.

"Hey, Rick?" I asked, walking over to him.

"What's up, Jason?" He stretched his shoulders out before looking from the ground and then back to me.

"I just want to know how Carl is doing. I haven't been in the house lately except for Hailey and I've been busy with fixing the new SUV." I crossed my arms over my chest and watched his reaction.

He gave a slight smile before nodding. "He's doing better. He's able to walk around the house now without Lori hanging onto him every step of the way." Rick looked behind him and at the house where Carl had just walked out and took a walk around the wrap-around porch. "It's not every day you're grateful for your kid being able to walk to the bathroom on their own."

"I know that feeling." I chuckled before looking back at the SUV. "You know, for all the money I had in the world, I never knew a Cadillac could drive so nice."

"Well, I think a Cadillac Escalade could possibly be one of the nicest post-apocalyptic vehicles any of us had ever seen… that runs."

We laughed a bit before he put his hand on my shoulder and said his good-bye while wishing his luck for finding Sophia.

…

I walked into the kitchen where I heard the sound of girls laughing, most likely the cause of my daughter doing something entertaining. I smiled as Hailey had grabbed Beth's hands and forced her to dance with her around the small kitchen while Herschel whistled a tune.

"I hope I'm not disrupting anything." I chuckled as Hailey immediately stopped and ran to me, ignoring Beth who she left alone.

"Daddy!" She squealed.

"Hey, sweet thing!" I picked her up and gave her a big hug, her hair smelling fresh from the baths Herschel let her have whenever she wanted.

"Daddy, Daddy! Beth and I are gonna go play with the chickens today and the horsies and she said I could even ride one and-"

"Whoa there, Cowgirl. Who gave you permission to even do these things?" I gave her a strained and confused smile as she looked at me with confusion in her eyes.

She turned a bit and pointed to Herschel. "Mr. Herschel did."

"Is Mr. Herschel your father?"

Hailey shook her head 'no' and slumped her shoulders. She dropped her head so that her forehead rested on my chin.

"Who do we asked for permission when we want to do things?" I took her by the chin and gently forced her to look at me.

"You." She sighed dramatically and looked away, the slightest hint of an attitude appearing.

"Correct. How do we ask to go play with the horsies and the chickens and all that fun stuff?"

"You." She rolled her eyes to the other side now. If she weren't my child, I would have shaken my head in disgust at the horrible parenting from the new father. But, she's my kid and she looked absolutely adorable when she did it. She could have even looked a little like me when I was her age.

"Well?"

She looked up at me and then sighed for one last time. "Daddy, canwepleasegoplaywiththehors iesandthechickensandtheanima lsinthebarn?" She gasped for air with excitement in her face as she sped through the question, hoping to confuse me.

"Absolutely." I put her down and she smiled greatly up at me as if I just promised her the gift of a lifetime.

She ran away with Beth upstairs and I went and sat down with Herschel at the table against the wall.

"She's a smart girl, Jason." Herschel started off.

I leaned back against the chair and nodded, agreeing that she was getting smarter and smarter every day. She had learned so much from just being with Beth, even if it was just socialization skills.

"She's my pride and joy." I said stoically before looking away and towards the window over the sink. Outside was hot and humid and the house wasn't much sanctuary from it either. "Are you going to be with them while they play at the barn?"

"I don't think they'll need my assistance. I wanted Rick to come with me today so I could show him something meaningful to me."

I nodded before relaxing in my seat and letting my arms rest on my thighs; my fingers twisted together as they held onto each other. "I don't feel comfortable letting Hailey and Beth venture out there just by themselves."

"Then go with them. My daughter is not your babysitter and if you don't feel as if she can keep your daughter safe on my farm, take her with you then." Herschel stood up from the table and walked away, the sound of his footsteps going up the stairs.

I sighed before looking out the window again, doubting what Herschel had said. I knew Beth would look out for Hailey and I trusted her to make sure she wouldn't put Hailey into any harm's way. I'm a father and we do that sometimes.

…

I slowly drove the SUV through the thick forest outside of Herschel's farm land, following a shitty drawing I did to help me search the area easier.

"Easier, my ass." I grumbled, tossing the paper into the passenger seat and giving my attention back to the road or whatever trail I was on.

Not having Hailey with me constantly was throwing me off my game, making me feel I had nothing to live for. It felt like I was still living in Los Angeles and driving into the mountains near the San Fernando Valley. It was green, beautifully green and dead. No birds chirped, no squirrels ran up the trunks of trees to escape the big SUV coming down the dirt path. It felt unreal.

I sighed and leaned my head against the headrest, looking out the driver's window and watching an almost black shadow slowly move through the thick trees and bushes. I stopped the car and put it into park, turning off the engine and just silenced myself and everything I was doing. I wanted to watch them, the Blanks. I wanted to know what they were doing when the smell for human flesh took over their senses.

Were they similar to us? Could the ridiculous movies about them acting human actually be real? Did they fall in love with each other? Could they handle a gun if it was given to them? I laughed quietly to myself as that idiotic movie played through my head and all I could remember was the lead actor, my friend, telling me how embarrassed he was to have played in that movie.

But, as I sat in the SUV and watched it slowly make its way out into the dirt road I was sitting on, it didn't notice me. It didn't even glance in my direction! Were Blanks blind? Possibly; they were so alert to sounds and their hearing was impeccable. Maybe I could experiment.

I gently turned the key into the 'ON' position and watch the lights on the dashboard flash to life. I rolled the window down just enough to put my arm out and wave it around.

I looked all around me; searching for any Blanks that may have escaped my line of sight. But, none were there and I realized that it was just the Blank and me sitting in the forest with nothing else better to do.

"It doesn't notice me…" I whispered, pulling my arm in and rolling the window up. "Why doesn't it notice?"

Maybe it was blind. I knew that it could smell and they just trekked around trying to catch whiff of something, anything bleeding or dead.

I looked up suddenly and watched as the Blank stood in the road and faced me. I lowered my brows and watched as it started to shuffle towards me. I didn't move, I didn't want to move; I wanted to see where this was going to go.

"Where are you going?" I asked myself quietly.

It jerked somehow and turned around and out of nowhere a horse came galloping down the dirt road towards the Blank and the SUV.

"Holy shit!" I shouted, jumping out of the Escalade and running towards the horse who knocked over the Blank.

It shrieked and panicked, dodging me and taking off the way I had just came. I turned around to watch it leave but, the snarling of the Blank caught my attention again. I smirked as I pulled the knife from my belt and walked up to the creature, driving the lethal metal into the left eyeball or what was an eyeball.

It quit moving and hushed, letting me know that it was officially dead. One more twist of the knife for good measure. I twisted the blade and pulled it out quickly, wiping the rotten blood on my jeans and throwing the body out of the way of the road.

"I wonder where that horse came from," I whispered to myself. I sheathed the knife and ran towards the SUV, not wanting to waste any more time.

…

My jaw dropped.

My heart stopped.

He was dead and two Blanks surrounded him.

I slammed the car door of the SUV and jumped down the steep ledge and the seventy foot drop to the shallow pond below.

"Daryl!" I shouted, startling the Blanks from their feast. I landed hard on my ass and felt my ankle twist. "Fuck!" I leaned to the side and rubbed the bone before watching the Blanks come at me. I sucked in a deep breath and started pushing myself away from them, hoping it would distract them enough to follow me and leave Daryl's body alone.

"Come on, fuckers!" I shouted, stumbling a little as I ran into the deepest part of the pond and began to wade through the water to slow them down.

I grabbed the hand gun from the back of my jeans and cocked it quickly, pulling the trigger and watching as the first of the two Blanks lose their head in an explosion so awesome it could only have been in a movie. I gasped as the other Blank quickly filled in its place, stumbling and quickly running towards me.

I turned around and started running through the water again as my brain screamed at me to gain some distance. "Fuck! Daryl!" I shouted again, hoping he was still alive and hoping, through some sort of fucked up miracle, he'd wake up and help me out.

I pulled the slide back, moving another bullet up into barrel. "Fuck you!" I shouted before spinning around and aiming at the head of the Blank, sending the bullet through its skull and shattering the back of it. The rotten and black brain matter spewed from the back of its skull and the body followed the direction in which the bullet came from.

I was breathing hard, my heart pounding and trying to escape from my chest, telling me to go fuck myself and have a great fucking day. I shook my head and wiped the sweat. I looked over at Daryl's body and started running over there, dropping to my knees once I got close.

"Daryl! Wake up, idiot!" I shouted, slapping the side of his face a little to get him to regain consciousness.

He moaned a bit before stirring, his lips trying to form words but failing to do so.

"Get your ass up! Let's go!" I shook him and tried pulling him up.

"Fuck off, Merle…" He whispered.

I didn't move. Merle? Who the hell was Merle? Fuck it, I had to get him to safety.

"Come on, dude. We have to go." I threw one of his arms over my shoulder and slowly walked us to the side of the hill I came down. I looked up at the steep hill and cursed God for making this planet rocky and anything other than flat.

I started to pull him up the hill when he shouted.

"What the fuck!" Daryl pulled his arm away and fell on his ass, grabbing onto his side in pain.

"Are you bit?!" I shouted.

"What the fuck are you doin' here?! And why the fuck are you touchin' me?!" He shouted at me, gripping onto his side as hard as he could.

"I was driving along the road and saw your ass down here getting eaten by Blanks! And I was trying to carry your ass up the fucking hill to save your sorry ass!" I shouted back.

"Fuck off, man. Just leave me here; I'll do much better without you anyways…" He sneered at me as he tried standing up and pulling himself to the side of the hill I was at.

"I'm not going to let you die. So, suck it up and let's climb up this hill." I wiped at my forehead to remove the sweat and stared at the hill with hatred.

"Well," Daryl said behind me.

"Well what?"

"Go. If you're so fuckin' confident." He growled at me.

I shook my head and started to climb, grabbing at the base of bushes and wedging my feet into crevasses to keep me steady and keep me from slipping.

I stopped for a moment and looked back down at Daryl who was still watching me. "You coming or what?" I shouted at him.

"I'm not gonna go up then have your fat ass fall down on me."

I shook my head and sighed. "I don't have a fat ass…" I whispered, pulling myself up the last five feet of hill and rolling onto the dirt road where the SUV was waiting for me. I laid on my back and took deep breaths as I smiled a bit, congratulating myself on not falling.

"Come on, Dixon! You don't wanna get shown up by a city boy, do you?" I shouted, laughing at him as I heard him cuss and grunt at the hill he was climbing up.

It didn't take him more than twenty minutes until he reached the top and rolled over just like I had done before.

I was already leaning against the SUV by the time he got up to me and I looked down at him as he held onto his side and coughed out some blood.

"Were you bit?" I asked quietly.

He shook his head before turning over and pushing himself up with his knee.

"Why is your side bleeding?"

"I fell on my arrow, asshole. Want to know when my balls dropped too? Fuck…"

I shook my head and walked over to the driver's side door. "Come on, grumpy. Get in."

…

Daryl relaxed in the leather seat and I did not complain. Both of us were tired beyond belief; him more than me. He was still bleeding a bit but, he tied off the puncture wound with some of his shirt.

"Let me off here," Daryl grunted.

I jumped from the sound but, quickly composed back into a relaxed state. "Why? It's not like we're going steady or anything. Unless you don't want your daddy seeing me dropping you off." I looked over at him and chuckled but, I did not get the same response back.

"Fuck off, man."

I slowed the car down and before I came to a complete stop, he opened the door and stepped out. The door slammed from the wind and I sighed before taking off again.

…

"You look like a young Annie Oakley up there." Dale smiled up at Andrea as she held the long range rifle on her hip and her cowboy hat tilted downwards over her eyes.

"Well, someone has to look good out here." She smirked down at Dale who only chuckled and walked in the RV.

The sun was setting and the treeline had already gotten dark. The tips of the trees were barely visible in the light that burned behind them. Suddenly, Jason's car drove up the driveway fairly quickly; dirt billowed from behind him and created a shield of dust along the road up to the house.

"He's driving fairly quickly. I wonder what's wrong." Andrea lowered her brows before looking away from Jason and towards the treeline and the entrance to the farm.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a Walker appeared and was slowly making its way up the dark grass and towards the groups location.

"WALKER!" Andrea shouted, turning around to see Rick, Shane, Glenn and a newly joined Jason come running towards her.

"Where?!" Rick shouted up at her, his eyes adjusting in the bright sunset to skim the farm land.

"Over by the treeline! He just came out!" Andrea shouted back, pulling the chamber of her rifle up and taking aim at the Walker through her scope.

"Don't shoot! Just, just wait a minute!" Rick shouted at her as he took off towards the Walker and the other men followed quickly.

"I can get him," Andrea said as she balanced with the heavy rifle in her hands.

"Wait, Andrea! They said they would handle it! You should listen!" Dale cried out as he came running from the RV.

"Oh, shut up, Dale. I got this." Andrea lowered her self to the RV and settled in her rifle.

…

"Holy shit, Dixon. You look like shit." Shane laughed as soon as the four of them got to the supposed Walker.

"Fuck you, man. I am-"

A bullet.

Daryl twisting in an inhumanly way possible and flying back towards the treeline he came from.

"Dixon!" Shane shouted, followed by Jason and Glenn as they rushed to the body.

"NO! NO!" Rick screamed, waving his hands in the air.

…

"Got him." Andrea smiled but, that smile soon disappeared. "What is Rick doing?"

Andrea and Dale watched as Shane, Glenn and Jason carried the 'Walker' up to the farm house.

"Oh, my God..." Dale whispered, his eyes looking up at a mortified Andrea.

"What have I done?"

…

I stood in the middle of the doorway, my shoulders tense from the sight before me. Daryl was bandaged together with gauze and cotton balls and his breathing was labored. I felt like I had something to do with it; maybe if I hadn't let him out and kept driving he wouldn't have gotten shot. Maybe if I had walked with him too; maybe that would have shown Andrea that he wasn't a Blank, just a really dirty redneck.

"J-..." Daryl started mumbling.

I perked up and walked over to the side of his bed.

"What is it?" I asked quietly, looking at him as he started pointing to his shirt that had been folded up.

"G-... Get th-..." He tried to speak but, his energy was so low he could've been mistaken for a Blank. Oh wait, he already had.

"The shirt?" I watched for any sign of 'yes' and when he started to nod, I walked over and grabbed it. I felt something inside and rolled it in my hands.

"Give that to me, asshole." He grunted out, finally better to speak whole sentences.

I smirked a little before handing it to him. He fumbled with it a bit and cursed at the shirt, trying to undo the knot someone had made.

"God damn, whoever made these knots must've been in the Navy." He grunted again, his voice completely scratched making it come out an octave lower.

He finally undid the knot and threw whatever was inside it at me. "Don't fuckin' tell me I haven't done anything for this group." He rolled over on his side away from me and pulled the sheet up to his shoulder.

I didn't look at what he threw at me but, walked out of his room instead. I passed Carol on the way out and almost ran into her.

"I'm sorry, Carol." I apologized, grabbing onto her shoulder to stabilize her.

"That's okay-" she immediately froze. "That's Sophia's doll..."

I straightened and let go of her, finally looking down at the object in my hand. And here it was: a doll. It was so simple and yet, so completely complex. It was covered in dirt and blood lined the side of it. The hair of the doll was messy and filthy and crunchy to the touch. The small dress it had on was torn and ripped at the hem.

"It is?" I asked, looking back at Carol who was still in the same expressed face and position I had seen last.

"Ye-... Yes..." She breathed out, a hand suddenly went to her mouth and she started sobbing quietly into it.

"Carol," I whispered, grabbing onto her and pulling her into me.

"My baby," she cried, her hands grabbing onto my dirty shirt as she bawled into my shoulder.

"Carol, it'll be okay. We'll find her." I said halfheartedly. I didn't know if I meant it or not, I'm not sure if I knew who this girl was enough to go find her again. Not after what went down today.

"Did you find it?" She pulled herself away and wiped the tears away from her aged cheeks.

"No, Daryl did." I looked back down at the doll and sighed.

Carol sort of smiled, wiping away the last of the tears away from her cheeks. "Thank you." She took the doll and walked away, disappearing into Daryl's room.

I shook my head as I walked away, the pain of guilt hitting me like a ton of bricks. I needed to get outside; I needed a cigarette for this.

But, how? How did he get that doll? How did he restore faith in that woman who had lost her daughter with such simple pieces of fabric stitched together to create something that could do that? I shook my head and walked out of the house and sat down on the porch steps, the cigarette already in my hand.

I flipped the cigarette around in my fingers as I rubbed my forehead in disbelief. He showed me up, he made me feel like an asshole and I was totally taking that nickname to the grave. I recalled what I had said the other day, telling him he had never done anything good for the group. I was so stupid to even make that assumption and now, he almost died twice to prove me wrong.

Maybe it hadn't been for my benefit, maybe he did it for himself, or even for Carol to give some peace that would make her seem like the world wasn't so broken as she believed. He had given her hope, something I hadn't even done for Hailey even if we were all staying here at this farm.

I sighed and put the cigarette to my lips, lighting it and sucking the most needed drag I had ever wanted. The night had crept up quickly and the moon wasn't in the sky, making the farm seem somewhat eerier than what I would have liked it to have been. I looked around the farm and figured everyone was asleep, even Dale who was sitting on top of the RV keeping watch was fast asleep and his snores were even audible over here.

Something caught the corner of my eye though and the silhouette of a woman walking in the grass past the RV perked my interest. "Who the hell was that?" I whispered as I slowly got up from the steps and quietly made my way over there. I reached for the knife on my belt and slowly made my way to the figure that suddenly crouched down.

I stopped and sunk down also, taking another drag of the cigarette before putting it under my boot and twisting it into the dirt. I looked back up to figure and then suddenly, a muffled cry came out. I stood up and walked over, the woman's long brown hair falling down her back gracefully.

"Lori?"

She gasped and spun around, a white stick flying out of her hands and landing by my feet.

"Jason?" She looked like a deer in headlights and her big brown eyes didn't seem to blend in with the darkness. I shook my head and looked down at my boot, slowly bending down and picking up the white stick.

Before my brain could stop my tongue and lips, it slipped out. "You're pregnant?"

* * *

**A/N: Gasp! He knows! He knows, he knows, he knows! She knows he knows and you know what, I got it right on the nose with this chapter! Cliffhanger much? Maybe, you'll have to read the next chapter to find out. Review guys! It builds me with confidence when you review and the more reviews, the more chapters! Thank you! Loved it? Hated it? Shank this bitch with a shaved toothbrush handle? Review!  
****-Laania**


	8. Chapter Eight

**Author's Note: I'm back! I'm updating! Yay! I _love_ this chapter, seriously. It's probably one of the scariest, funnest (is that a word), coolest chapters I've written in a while. Now that I've gotten your expectations up, I'm gonna get all these horrible reviews that say, "you suck" and all that jazz. Anyways, wanting to thank random guest, Izanagi God, Emberka-2012, deelove 1, Kayce Skywalker, another random guest and R.S. Carter. R.S. Carter, ladies and gentlemen (do guys even read this) is actually having her own fan fic published (hopefully) into an actual book! It's based on the Walking Dead without the walking dead! Even Daryl is in it! Kinda. Dfferent name, still same sexy guy. Yum.**

**Anyways, hope ya'll go read her book once it hits the shelves and I'll see ya'll next time I update! Thank you!**

**Chapter Eight**

_**"Lori?"**_

_**She gasped and spun around, a white stick flying out of her hands and landing by my feet.**_

_**"Jason?" She looked like a deer in headlights and her big brown eyes didn't seem to blend in with the darkness. I shook my head and looked down at my boot, slowly bending down and picking up the white stick.**_

_**Before my brain could stop my tongue and lips, it slipped out. "You're pregnant?"**_

…

I stared in confusion at the large and very clear pink plus sign in the small window of the plastic stick. I had seen enough of these during my lifetime to know that it wasn't a good sign, especially right now.

"How the fuck are you pregnant?" I shouted in a whisper, my eyebrows coming down as I threw the stick at her feet.

She jumped up and quickly pulled her pants back on, zipping them up and grabbing the stick from the grass. "It's not like I planned on this, Jason." She whispered back to him, her eyes lit with a fury of anger.

"Well, I don't know what to say," I started, looking over at the RV and caught sight of Dale still asleep on top of the RV with the rifle in between his legs. I looked back at Lori who ran her fingers through her hair and shifted into a comfortable position. But nothing was comfortable right now; neither of us could stay in a position long enough to assess the situation.

"Then don't say anything, especially to Rick." Lori caught me by surprise.

"You don't want to tell your husband about you being pregnant? Why the hell not?" I folded my arms across my chest and looked down at her with confusion.

"Be… Because, I think it's better if the group doesn't know anything about this." Lori stammered, her hand immediately being drawn to her forehead as if it would somehow calm her down.

"How the fuck did you even get pregnant? Shane told me Rick hadn't even shown up but a month ago-…" I stopped myself from continuing on.

The look on her face was priceless if I were watching this a mile away. Her eyes grew wide and her hand dropped from her forehead back to her side. She wanted to speak or to scream, possibly even latch onto my throat and strangle me to death.

"Shane?" I whispered, getting closer to her so that we were only a foot apart. "You fucked _Shane_? You _fucked_ Shane?!" I started getting louder and my heart beat did not help but entice the situation even more. I wanted to rip her apart, hurt her.

"Shut up! Don't you dare patronize me!" She pushed her bony finger deep into my chest.

I looked down and swatted her hand away. "Rick is your husband and you slept with his best friend. Oh, I'm gonna patronize you, I'm gonna patronize you pretty fuckin' good."

I began to walk away but, her hand clasped around my wrist and tried to spin me around. Her weak strength was laughable but, I stopped and gave her the courtesy of even looking at me.

"We may not have started off on the right foot but, I am asking you to please not tell anyone. I don't want this baby or, maybe I do. I don't know but, you can't run off and begin to tell every single person you see that I'm knocked up. Do you understand me?" Her eyes were fierce with conviction and I knew now how Carl was so obedient to his mother. That stare and look would have scared the shit out of me if I was his age. But, I wasn't.

I turned fully towards her and moved into her intimate space. I looked down at her and readied my argument. "You try one more time to tell me what to do, I'll make sure there are fifty fuckin' balloons for a baby shower. I've been through too much, seen too much and have done too much to even remotely come close to being frightened by you. So, the next time you wanna fuck someone other than your husband, tell them to pull out."

I spun around and left her there in the middle of the field, blind-sided by what I said and how I said it. Who the hell was she telling me I couldn't tell anyone? I'm not her kid and I'm certainly not going to be stopped by an evil stare.

…

"Wake up," I said as my foot gently knocked his sleeping bag.

"What the hell, man?" He groaned as he started waking up, his hands going up to his eyes and rubbing them open.

"Follow me," I moved away from his tent and grabbed a handful of rounds for my handgun and stuffed them into my pocket. I heard cursing behind me, indicating Shane was up and out of his tent and headed this way.

"Man, what the hell you doin' wakin' me up at this hour? I finally went to sleep not even an hour ago."

"Lori's pregnant."

That was it. Everything stopped and Shane's face contorted into something I had only seen a man do whenever he knew he was both fucked and over-joyed. "What?"

"Get in the car." I waved for him to follow me to the Escalade, letting him know this needed to be private.

It didn't take him more than twenty seconds to be in that car with the door closed and locked. I jumped in a few seconds after and turned the screw driver in the ignition to the 'ON' position. The SUV roared to life and I watched as Dale startled awake and look towards the offending noise that woke him up.

"Headed on a quick run! Won't take us more than an hour!" Shane yelled through the window, waving his hand in the air at Dale who just gave a slight nod and turned around to look at the house. Shane rolled up the window and looked over at me. "You better explain yourself right now."

I sighed and leaned against the window as I pulled out onto the road and floored the SUV. "I caught her peeing on the stick and I scared the shit out of her so bad she sort of threw the thing at me."

Shane leaned back against the seat and put his hand up against his mouth, thinking and contemplating about the situation.

"She told me, threatened me actually, not to tell anyone. I couldn't hide it from you, especially since it's yours."

Shane looked at me so quick I thought he was going to jump over the arm rest and strangle me. "She said it's mine."

"No, not really. I 'decoded' the situation… You said Rick hasn't been back but a month, right? I just connected the two somehow and she almost looked like she wanted to knock my lights out."

"Well, maybe it is Rick's."

"A woman can't tell if she's pregnant unless at least six weeks have gone by." I looked out the window and began to slow the car down, the edge of the small town coming up in front of us.

"How the fuck do you know this shit?" Shane looked at me with angry blank stare.

"When you're one of Hollywood's sexiest man alive for two years straight, you get women who would do anything to get pregnant by you. I had this one girl who actually got a turkey baster and sucked the cum out of the condom and shoved it inside of her."

Shane laughed out loud and wiped his head of the sweat. "What? Some bitch did that?" He continued laughing and it got me into a better mood, making me chuckle and nod.

"Oh yeah, there are some crazies out there."

"Well, how did you get Hailey?" Shane smiled over at me as he relaxed into the seat and watched a few buildings pass him.

I looked over at him and gave him 'the look'.

"HER?! Turkey baster bitch?! HAHAHA!" Shane roared laughing, he held his sides and tried being quiet for the sake of our safety.

"She really wanted my kid and I was the type of guy that said 'adios' when women came running to me like that. Two months later, I get an amazing phone call from my manager who says I have a kid on the way. Of course I fought it in the courtrooms and told them that she stole my sperm-"

"Stole your sperm?"

"It was a stupid case, believe me. Anyways, she had the kid and she was pretty famous as well; she had had a really bad rep with drugs and I won that paternity case easily. Then, she got on a television show and becomes this 'America's Sweetheart' type shit and fights me again for Hailey. She won the next paternity case and that was about when the world went to shit." I sighed against the window before putting the SUV in park and turning it off.

"Sorry man, at least you have her back." Shane resituated himself in the seat and pulled the handgun from the back of his pants.

I pulled out the handful of handgun rounds from my pocket and gave him half. "Let's just blow off some steam."

Shane cocked his gun and opened the door. "I'm already there."

…

It was 6 o'clock in the morning when we got back. A thin layer of fog covered the ground in front of us and the sun hid behind the clouds just a bit longer than we wanted it to. Driving back without headlights and through the fog wasn't what I wanted to do but, it seemed to get Shane to calm down with Lori.

I felt bad for him. He was in love with Lori and everything that he had said back in the town about how she was his and how she didn't love Rick anymore after the accident was a tad bit heartbreaking. He told me all the things he loved about her; it wasn't just her physical appearance but her emotional side and how beautiful she was on the inside.

"I love her," he interrupted the silence in the Escalade with his Southern drawl.

I looked over at him before sighing and slowing down to turn onto Greene Road where the farm sat patiently waiting for us.

"I can't get her out of my head." He rubbed his forehead and then rubbed through the short, shaven hair.

"Why not? Rick is back; Lori is his wife. Are you really sure you want to jeopardize your friendship over a woman?"

"I've done worse for less." He looked over at me with a hard look in his eye.

"Otis?" I did a double-take before looking back at the clearing from the road and at the white farm house that sat a mile away. "Don't blame that on yourself. I pulled the trigger, not you. But you, you saved Carl's life. Lori, if anything, should be grateful for you and what you did."

Shane sighed before unlocking his door and jumping out of the Escalade as I stopped to park. He closed the door and walked inside of his tent, zipping it shut and probably ignoring everything I had just told him.

…

"Dad?" Hailey whispered as we sat on the porch and looked out at the morning sun, about 10 o'clock.

"Yes, sweetheart?" I looked down at her while taking a bite out of a peach Maggie's sister, Beth, had handed us.

"Are we safe?"

I stopped chewing and gave a half-hearted smile. Four years old and she's wondering if we're safe. I looked over at her and her blue eyes, the same blue eyes that looked as if they had lost a bit of their glow.

"You know, I don't know how to tell you this but," I paused for dramatic effect, looking away and out into the horizon. Her hand grabbed onto my bicep and gripped a bit.

"Tell me, Daddy." She wanted to cry a little, I could hear it in her voice.

I looked back down at her and smiled. "We're perfectly safe! I promise!" I swept her up and into my arms, wrapping her in my chest and showering her with kisses.

Her laughter resonated through-out the farm, waking the heavier sleepers and the sound of Dixon's yells about 'shutting the fuck up' came in loud and clear.

"You suck, Dad." Hailey tried swatting at my head and I pulled away just in time for her to miss.

"I know." I smiled again before showering her with another set of kisses.

…

"Rick," I walked over to him as he began to walk somewhere with Shane.

"Jason," he acknowledged back.

"I'm going to take Hailey into town and do a run. Did you need anything?"

Rick looked behind him at Shane who nodded and walked right up next to him. "Shane and I were talking about making a run but, we didn't have time. Could you go back to the highway and siphon some more gas? That's all we need." Rick said as the sun tried blinding him, making him squint in the sun.

"No problem. Shane?"

"If they have a bottle of Wild Turkey, I'd be more than thankful." Shane said with a smile.

Rick and I chuckled before I turned away, heading over to the women last. I walked up behind Andrea and put my hand on her shoulder; her muscle twitched under my touch and she turned her head quickly to see who the intruder was. Carol and Lori sat at the picnic table in front of her and peeled potato's for the evening meal they wanted to create.

The women all looked up at me and I smiled lightly at them. "I'm making a run. I've already been told to get some gas and Wild Turkey. Could I offer you ladies a nice box of wine?"

The women chuckled before nodding their heads. "Oh yeah, I nice big white box of wine seems perfect. Get the rosé if you can." Carol smiled greatly at me before she cut the potato and threw it in a small bowl.

"I'm fine with Wild Turkey." Andrea smiled up at me before taking her peeler at the potato, striking the brown skin and pulling it away from her.

"Is that what you're really getting? Just alcohol and gas?" Lori killed the joke as she shook her head and peeled a potato in her hands.

"I'm pretty sure he was just kidding, Lori." Andrea scoffed and shook her head.

I pulled my hand off of Andrea's shoulder and looked at Lori. "What can I get you, huh? A glass of water? Purified?" I shot back at her, ignoring her bitchy mood and turning to walk away.

I started down the hill, listening to feet crunching the grass behind me. A hand grabbed my bicep and tried to spin me around. Lori.

I turned around for her benefit and crossed my arms over my chest. "What?" I asked in a rougher voice.

"I need something." Lori tucked in her long brown hair behind her ear and looked down at the white piece of paper in her hands.

"What is it? Hailey is already waiting for me in the SUV." I reached for the paper and shook my head, reading the chicken scratch. "Are you _fucking_ kidding me?" I whispered before grabbing her arm and pulling her aside so that she didn't have her back to the women.

"I'm not asking you for permission. If you won't get them, I'll get someone who can." She gave me a hard glare before walking away and back at Andrea, the white paper being stuffed into her back pocket.

I mumbled something incoherent before running my hands through my hair. "Abortion pills, I cannot fucking believe this." I whispered as I opened the driver's door to the Escalade and turned it on with the screw driver.

"Are you okay, Dad?" Hailey asked from the backseat with her seatbelt already strapped around her.

"I'm not feeling very well, honey. Let's make this quick, okay?"

"Okay." She affirmed with a lack of confidence.

…

I stopped the SUV on the outskirts of the traffic jam, the fuel gauge on the dashboard nearing 'Empty' and the large red gas canisters sitting in the trunk behind Hailey.

"Alright sweetheart, you remember how this works, right?" I turned around in the front seat and looked at Hailey as she nodded and unbuckled her seatbelt, standing on the seat and stepping over to the arm rest on my seat. I opened the sun roof and the sound of the mechanical churning made Hailey take a few breaths in and out.

"If I see one of them-"

"A Blank."

"The Blank… If I see one, I just make the sound?"

"Yes. Are you going to be okay?" I looked up at her as her hands gripped onto the sides of the sun roof. Her body was bent a little so she wouldn't hit her head on the roof.

"Yeah." She nodded before poking her head through.

I looked up at her before nodding towards her and opening the door. I closed it and ran to the trunk and opened the large hatch door, taking out the eight canisters and placing them on the ground before quietly closing the hatch door. I could see all of Hailey's head and a bit of her shoulders from the opening in the SUV's top, smiling at her as I grabbed the canisters and started walking into the cemetery of cars.

…

I had been sucking the end of a garden hose for more than two hours and I had only filled six of the eight canisters I had. They each held five gallons and I was thankful I had found one car with a full tank of gas, filling up three of the gas buckets.

"Ca-Caw! Ca-Caw!" Hailey shouted, over and over again.

My heart was bursting through my chest; the sound I told Hailey to make was echoing through-out the abandoned highway. "I'm coming, baby." I whispered as I pulled the garden hose out of the gas tank and then out of the gas canister. I closed it up and put all of them on top of a car.

I rushed through the maze of cars, Hailey's voice having disappeared and making me want to scream and call out for her, even if it was just another 'ca-caw', just let me know you're alive.

The familiar groaning and snarls caught up to me and I immediately came to a stop, looking around for any type of shelter to hide me from the Blanks that were coming at me. I spotted a little silver two-door Cavalier with the windows rolled up and a door partially open.

There.

I ran towards it, jumping into the seat and quickly but quietly pulling the door to close. I locked the door and checked the other side, making sure that door was closed before rolling into the backseat. The tinted windows helped keep the light out and it helped from people looking into the car to steal something. This time, there were no people but Blanks and they weren't stealing anything but your flesh, blood and life.

"Please stay down, Hailey. Please stay down." I whispered like a chant, praying to the absent god for any sort of miracle that my baby will be okay.

That was when the first one walked by the car.

The dark silhouette of the Blank stumbled by, it's destination was wherever the wind blew them. I pushed myself up a tad to look out the back window and to check how many there were.

"About a dozen." I whispered before pulling out my handgun and checking the magazine. "Seven rounds." I sighed before putting my head down against the hard fabric of the backseat.

Suddenly, a muffled scream broke its way through the Cavalier, making me jump up and scream out. "HAILEY!"

I climbed over the front seat and kicked open the passenger door, climbing out and immediately putting a bullet between the eyes of two Blanks.

"I'm coming, baby!" I shouted, running through the maze and into a few Blanks coming out from behind a couple of cars. I aimed the handgun and pulled the trigger, double tapping it when two Blanks stood side by side, easily dropping them.

Two bullets left, two bullets left. I repeated to myself as I made it to the Escalade and looking at the seven Blanks surrounding the tall black fortress.

I aimed my gun at the first one, somehow hearing a groan and snarl behind me. I spun around quickly, the Blank having gotten too close for comfort and trying to latch onto my shirt. Its jaws snapped together, its teeth wanting to grab onto the flesh it so desperately wanted. I yelled before putting the gun on its rotten head, pulling the trigger and feeling the warm smear of awful-smelling blood on my shirt and jeans.

The Blank dropped and the seven Blanks around the SUV heard the commotion, only four of them coming towards me. I tucked the handgun away, pulling the large machete-like knife from my belt and driving it into the eye of the first Blank that came at me, then the next one and the next one until only two Blanks were left standing, their bloody hands prying at the windows and pressing the thin glass in, crushing the glass. The shattered glass burst inside the SUV, Hailey's screams echoed even louder. She hid somewhere in the back, covering her herself from the sharp glass that just landed on her.

"DADDY!"

"I'm coming, Hailey!" I yelled back, running up to the first Blank and slicing its neck, the dead falling off and the body dropping like dead weight. I turned to the last one and watched as it slowly made its way towards me.

"Come on, you son of a bitch!" I yelled, driving the machete through the top of the skull and into the brain, twisting it and listening to the last gurgle the Blank made before slipping off the metal inside of it.

I took deep breaths in and out, looking around for more but, none were there. I ran over to the door and opened it from the inside, being careful not to touch the shattered glass.

"Hailey!" I yelled, opening the back door and seeing her curled up in the space between the front seat and the back seats. "Baby?" I reached out for her, pulling her up into my chest as she cried hard.

Her hands punched my shoulders and she bit onto my dirty shirt, muffling her screams.

"I'm here, baby. I'm sorry." I held her against me and walked over to the gas canisters, picking them up and carrying them back to the car.

Hailey hung onto me; her legs wrapped around my waist and her arms wrapped around my neck. I didn't have to hold onto her anymore and she continued crying until we got back into the car. I sat her in the passenger seat and buckled her in, backing up to the road a couple of miles back and turning onto the paved street.

"We have one more thing to get, okay?" I whispered to her, listening to her cry again.

"NO! I don't want to go! We're not safe, Daddy! We're not safe!" She cried out, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

"We are safe. _You_ are safe. Daddy is just an asshole sometimes." I sighed pulled next to a bar in the small town Herschel's family lived in.

"You're a huge asshole! The biggest asshole ever!"

"Okay, you're done with that word." I sighed and leaned my head against the steering wheel, the breeze from coming through the broken window right next to me. I opened my eyes and left the SUV running. "I'll be back. Keep quiet."

I opened the door and closed it, walking up to the bar doors and turning the knob, thanking the bar gods for the good fortune. Couldn't have done that, could you, highway gods?

I shook my head and jumped behind the counter, the Wild Turkey and countless bottles of red and white wine lined the shelves. "Eh, couldn't hurt to take a few more."

…

I pulled up to the camp outside of the farm house and got out of the car, Hailey following right behind me.

"Jason! What happened?" Rick shouted as I held onto the small red crate in my hands filled with alcohol of all kinds.

"He's an asshole." Hailey said as everyone had gathered around.

Rick did a double take at Hailey before looking at me. "I let it slip."

Rick nodded and walked to the SUV, grabbing the gas canisters and handing some off to Shane and T-Dog.

"You look like shit, man." Shane laughed as he found the white label of the Wild Turkey in the crate and smiled like a kid seeing the Christmas tree wrapped with presents. Shane took the crate from my hands and looked down at it with joy.

"Dinner's ready!" Carol smiled and waved from the porch, calling all of us inside to enjoy the meal.

"I'm gonna go clean Hailey and me up. We'll be down in a bit." I took Hailey's hand and walked inside with her, walking her up the stairs and into the bathroom with a fresh shirt and jeans.

I closed the door as Hailey sat down on the toilet. "I'm sorry for calling you an asshole, Daddy." Hailey said as she looked up at me with her blue eyes. They had that same dull glow like before and I sighed as I looked away from her.

I turned on the shower and took off my shirt, throwing it against the door. "Hailey, I love you, sweetheart." I knelt down in from of her and held onto her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "There is nothing I wouldn't do for you. I'd _die_ for you, honey."

"Don't say that, Dad." Hailey had tears well up into her eyes.

"I am gonna say it because it's true. I'm sorry I left you all alone; I thought you would be safe."

Hailey looked away and took in a deep breath, slowly letting it out as she replayed the memories over and over again in her head. It didn't help that my mind was racing at a hundred miles an hour thinking about the same thing, about if how a Blank could have gotten her and she would've been taken from me.

"I love you, sweetheart. We haven't been on our own in a long time and today, we had a little mistake, a hiccup almost. We know now that we need to get better at this, alright? Whether something happens to me or anyone else here, you gotta learn how to save yourself."

"Are you leaving me, Daddy?" Hailey's first tear fell down her right cheek and it made the most beautiful straight line I had ever seen. No actress could have pulled this kind of emotion. This was my daughter and she was the most realistic and sincere person I know.

I smiled a tad before looking at the shower curtain and turning on the hot water. "I will _never_ leave you." I kissed her head and hugged her.

…

If you think that a dinner for everyone would be amazing, you were dead wrong. The awkwardness of the situation, a.k.a The Dinner, was so beyond anything I had ever felt before. Even Hailey who sat with Glenn, Maggie, Beth and a healing Carl could feel the awkward situation.

It didn't help with the smell of newly-opened alcohol coursing around the table. Everyone was drinking, except for Herschel, who was making things even harder to work with.

I took another swig of the hard whiskey and felt the burn flow down my throat. I let out a sigh and ate another bite of the mashed potatoes Carol and Lori had made. No flavoring, barely any salt; oh yeah, this was a party.

"So," Glenn spoke up, looking around the room and at the 'Adult' table. "Anyone know how to play the guitar?" Glenn smiled as he pulled an old and worn guitar from behind his chair.

"Otis did," Patricia replied quietly, idly forking her potatoes.

I took another sip of the whiskey and so did Shane, the burn of the alcohol soothing our awkward nerves. Nothing was getting better; in all actuality, it may have been getting worse.

Suddenly, a scratching sound pulled us from our doom and everyone turned towards the sound and the sound seemed to have come from Glenn and Maggie.

Glenn coughed and handed something back to Maggie. I smiled a bit before looking at Hailey who sipped at her grape Kool-Aid.

"Well, great dinner, ladies." Dale interrupted the glare at the two young adults.

"Thank you, Dale. We all worked hard for y'all." Lori smiled as she grabbed her wine glass, mixing the wine in a counter-clockwise direction.

"For family." Shane slurred out, his hand holding up the crystal cup with the little bit of whiskey he had left.

I grabbed my own glass and so did everyone else.

"For family." Rick smiled and took a drink, motioning for everyone else to take a drink also. Rick looked at Lori and smiled and then down at Carl who held a glass of Kool-Aid in the air and laughed while Hailey did the same.

…

"Guess you're finally talking to me again?" I smiled drunkenly at Andrea who took a sip at the whiskey in her hand.

"I guess you could say that." She gave a half-hearted smile before sighing and looking away at the RV.

We sat under the porch light on the steps overlooking the large farm. I relaxed against the old wood; my elbows resting on the top step. Andrea sat forward; her elbows on her knees as she twirled the alcohol around in the glass.

"Look," I smiled, touching her arm to motion over towards Glenn who was walking towards the barn with a sleeping bag and a flashlight. "He's gonna get laid tonight." I hiccupped and laughed quietly, listening to Andrea give a slight chuckle.

"I'm glad for him. Everyone needs a good fuck every now and then." Andrea whispered towards me.

I turned my head quickly towards her, her eyebrows cocked a little and a smile played on her lips. "I'm too old for that shit." I said back, hoping she would get the message.

"I bet Dale would get it on with his wife."

"OH! God! Why the hell would you say that?" I choked out, the whiskey I was sipping having gotten caught in the cough. "Us guys don't want to know about our dicks when we get old! Let alone think about another old man's dick! Nasty…" I took another sip before relaxing again into the stairs.

Andrea leaned back with a sigh and a smile on her lips, the glass of whiskey in her hand as she grabbed at the almost empty pack of cigarettes between us. "May I?" She asked, her fingers already playing with one of the heavenly miracles in paper.

"Why not? You've already talked about old dick, please, take one of the last of my cigarettes." I chuckled as she laughed, lighting it and taking a deep drag.

"These have a heavy pull." She coughed out, her eyes watering as the smoke emptied her lungs.

"They're Special Blends. If you can't handle them, give that back!" I reached over for the cigarette and she swatted my hand away, putting the filter to her lips and taking a soft drag instead of the hard one she did right before.

"No, it's mine!" She laughed as she took another drink of her whiskey

"Fine..." I smiled and grabbed at the second to last one in my pack, lighting it up and pulling the smoke through the paper tube. I let it out of both my nose and mouth, letting the flavors settle and soak into every pour in my body.

"I can't see how you can smoke these. They're horrible." Andrea commented as she flicked some ash off the tip.

"I didn't choose them; Maggie gave them to me. They were Otis'."

"Oh."

And then, silence. Otis wasn't a touching subject for our group but, he always brought everyone down, killed their mood. Well, I put him down and the Blanks killed him. No one else knew that except for Shane and he was sleeping with the rest of the Wild Turkey.

Footsteps sounded through-out the house and suddenly, the screen door burst open and Maggie ran out towards the barn. We were on the other side of the house and she apparently didn't see us.

"God damn, she must really want to get laid."

…

It was morning and I sat at the picnic table with Dale and Glenn and a sore headache that didn't seem to go away. I pressed a cold rag up to my head and tried to not breathe in deeply, the smell of the grass and trees was making me nauseous.

"Hey guys," Glenn spoke up, a peach in his hand as he looked between the two of us.

"What's wrong, Glenn?" Dale spoke up, his dark brown eyes watching Glenn.

"Umm," Glenn grabbed his arm and looked at the ground; his shoe kicked at the dirt.

"Spit it out, kid." I grumbled, not meaning to sound like an asshole.

"There are Walkers in the barn."

Dale and I stopped what we were doing and I dropped the rag on the picnic table.

"What did you say?" Dale asked, standing up with his rifle strap tightening in his hand.

"There are Walkers in the barn." Glenn repeated, turning around to look at the barn that stood only a quarter of a mile, maybe less, away from us and the tents we all slept in.

I stood up and walked next to Glenn and Dale who only had their eyes on the wooden structure.

"Fuck me."

* * *

**A/N: Fuck you, Jason? No problemo. So, the Walkers in the barn are finally discovered and Andrea and Jason got kinda cozy up on that porch that night. How did you enjoy it? Loved it? Hate it? Break a beer bottle and stab it with the sharp end? Review!  
By the way, quick question: which celebrity makes you think of Jason? Post your answer in the comments!  
-Laania**


	9. Chapter Nine

_****_**Author's Note: Phew! Well, this one was a doosey! I was writing, doing finals, drawing on Photoshop with a friend and expecting everything to come crashing down sooner rather than later. Anyways, I'm done with this chapter and I hope to see some awesome reviews! It's a lot of twists and turns and what have you so, review please!**

**I want to thank Kayce Skywalker, Emberka-2012 and Izanagi God for their great reviews on the last chapter! Oh, and I had asked a question about who you think Jason looks like and I got a few cool answers. In the end, it's whoever you truly want him to look like. Thanks again guys!**

**Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah... I don't own The Walking Dead... Blah, blah, blah...**

_**"What did you say?" Dale asked, standing up with his rifle strap tightening in his hand.**_

_**"There are Walkers in the barn." Glenn repeated, turning around to look at the barn that stood only a quarter of a mile, maybe less, away from us and the tents we all slept in.**_

_**I stood up and walked next to Glenn and Dale who only had their eyes on the wooden structure.**_

_**"Fuck me."**_

…

My heart wouldn't stop racing in my chest even though I tried so hard to make it stop. I gripped the back of my neck and took in a deep breath, looking around the little area where we all slept. Hailey was sleeping the tent furthest from me and Carol was just getting up.

"No one knows," I whispered, letting a sigh escape my lips as I turned and grabbed the edge of the picnic table.

"Maggie told me not to tell anyone." Glenn spoke up, his face a mess of emotions. He looked scared yet, angry in some little way.

"We have to tell everyone. We can't keep this a secret from the group!" Dale said a little too loudly and Glenn and I quieted him down.

"We tell Rick and Shane. We confront Herschel and we eradicate the rotten fuckers in there." I felt my shaking with anger and I shook my head as Carol came towards the three of us.

"Are y'all alright?" She looked concerned and the frying pan in her hand began to spin around as she kept her eyes on us.

"We're fine. I think I'm getting sick." Glenn spoke up, diverting the subject. He looked between Dale and me, giving us the look to keep everything quiet and not tell another living soul.

Carol nodded and walked off towards the chicken coop Herschel had on his farm, close to the barn.

"I gotta leave. I can't just stand here and do nothing about it." I stood up straight and walked off towards the tent Hailey was still sleeping in.

"Jason!" Dale caught my arm and turned me around, his deep and dark brown eyes looking up at me with hard conviction. "You can't just leave. We need you here. You're part of the group now." Dale let go of my arm and held the strap to his rifle closer to him.

"I can't let my _daughter_ be around those things! She and I had a run in with them just yesterday! How would you feel if I told you I would always take care of you and yet, those Blanks are just a few feet from where we sleep?" I whispered angrily at him.

He shook his head with distraught and took the fisherman's cap off his head and rubbed the sweat from his forehead with it. "I'll watch her. If you need to leave for a while to cool down, I understand." Dale sighed and looked at the tent behind me.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead, nodding in agreement that I need to cool off.

"This is Herschel's farm. We can't just go and do whatever we want. We're guests here." Dale grabbed onto my shoulder and gave a slight squeeze, giving me the wisdom and reason of an older man. "So, just go ahead and take some time off. Go find Daryl and go kill something if you have to."

I perked up and chuckled. "I don't think Daryl and I would make it off of the farm before we killed each _other_."

Dale chuckled and then patted my shoulder, sending me off towards Daryl.

…

I walked up to the broken down fireplace and huge oak tree where Daryl was sharpening his long knife. He looked at me before grunting and turning his back towards me, a non-verbal 'fuck you' being implied.

"I want you to go help me find Sophia." I lied. I didn't want to go find that little girl anymore, not after what had happened last time with Daryl in the SUV.

"Fuck off. I ain't going nowhere with you." He struck the edge of the blade harder with a piece of metal in his other hand.

"Look," I started and before I got another word out, he was already standing up and the blade to my neck.

"I said, I ain't _going_ anywhere with you. If you keep pushing," he pressed the blade harder against my neck. "I won't say it was an accident."

I curled my lip into a snarl and pushed him off, turning away and walking back down the little hill towards the black Escalade.

…

I drove down to the highway again and weaved my way through the mess of cars and trucks that had been tipped over. I sighed as Andrea shifted in the passenger seat and checked the clip of her gun to look at how many rounds were in it.

"Thanks for coming with me." I guess. I looked out of the window as the SUV slowly crawled through the cemetery.

"You're welcome. I loved Sophia and I hadn't really had a chance to go look for her in a while." She slammed the clip back into the gun until it clicked. She placed it in between her legs and I chuckled. "What is so funny?" She asked as I looked away from her.

"Is that a gun between your legs or are you just happy to see me?" I looked at her and flexed my eyebrows like a playboy would.

"You're such an idiot." She chuckled and moved the gun under her leg.

"I remember a woman asked me that when I was in a club one night. I freaked out because I actually had a gun in my pants and I was checking to see if it was showing. It was the funniest things that had ever happened."

"I'm guessing you weren't happy to see her?"

I smiled and looked at her as we neared the end of the congestion. "Not when I woke up the next morning and she was still in my bed."

Andrea laughed out loud, covering her mouth as if she was trying to hide the laughter from me. "That's horrible."

I shook my head and laughed at the memory.

…

We pulled over at an empty field when we saw a few farm houses lining the road.

"I'm guessing that if Sophia was going to be anywhere, it would probably be there." Andrea pulled the concealed hand gun from the back of her jeans and checked the barrel, ensuring there was a bullet ready to fire when needed.

I grabbed the machete from it's sheath and twisted it around in my hand, walking through the tall and overgrown grass towards the three abandoned farm houses. The weeds crunched beneath our feet and we walked in silence the rest of the way until we climbed up the broken and rotten wood porch steps.

"I don't think she would be in here," I whispered, walking towards the window on the other side of the door and looked in, seeing that it was empty.

"Well, it would be hard for any Walker to climb up the steps since they're so worn out."

"And would a twelve year old actually think of that?" I countered back as I twisted the door knob and opened the door, surprised it was open. "And would a twelve year old leave a door unlocked during this shit?" I looked at Andrea and she rolled her eyes, pushing past me and into the dark and mold-smelling house.

"Sophia? Sophia?" Andrea called out quietly, just enough for someone to hear without alerting any other presence.

I walked through the living room and looked around, dust having covered every inch of the place. "Sophia? Are you in here?"

Andrea came up to me and tucked her gun in her jeans. "She isn't here."

I looked at her before sighing and rubbing my forehead. "Did you even check upstairs?"

Andrea shook her head and looked away towards the bottom of the staircase. She shrugged her shoulders and looked back at me. "Let's go try the other house."

…

It had been the same for the other farm house. Nothing was in there but the rotting corpses of some poor family who just didn't get out in time.

We sadly made our way over to the last house and neither of us weren't in the mood to see another family snarling and groaning towards us, trying to devour our flesh.

"If she isn't here-" I started, looking over at Andrea who climbed the four steps up to the small porch that protected a small window and the large oak door.

Andrea shook her head as soon as she grabbed the door knob. "I know you didn't know Sophia but, I did. We all had known her. I don't want to give up now just because we found two empty houses."

"Not really empty but, alright." I sighed and ran up the stairs quickly, waiting for Andrea to open the door.

"It's locked." Andrea looked at me before cocking her gun.

"Stop that. You'll attract more than we can handle." I pushed her back and pulled my leg up, kicking in the door as hard as I could.

The wood splintered against the metal lock and broke the the door frame off the side of the wall. The door flung open and crashed against the wall; somehow the door knob on the inside got caught in the drywall and held itself there, greeting us with the houses darkness.

"Come on." I walked in and listened carefully for any kind of noise.

"I'm checking upstairs." Andrea said quickly and before I could say anything to stop her, she was already rushing up the stairs.

"No, please, wait, don't go." I groaned sarcastically, walking into the kitchen and checking the area for any sort of supplies we could need at the camp.

I opened the pantry door and looked inside, small cans of kidney beans stacked on themselves in the corner of a shelf, trying to hide from hungry survivors. "It's not much but, we'll get something out of it."

_**BANG!**_ The discharge of Andrea's gun pulled me out of the thought of the kidney beans for a meal.

"ANDREA!" I shouted, running around the corner and climbing the stairs two at a time, the sound of Andrea crying and my rough gasps were the only noises I could hear now.

"I'm in here!" Andrea shouted and as soon as I hit the top step, I turned into the room with the door open and the sunlight glowing between the cracks of the door.

I charged at the door and slammed it open, looking at Andrea on her knees and holding something in her arms. "What was that?" I yelled, running to her and dropping down, grabbing a hold of her shoulders.

Andrea looked up at me and I saw the young girl in her arms and my heart stopped beating.

…

I sped through the congestion on the highway, hitting a few of the cars and jerking the three of us forward with enough momentum to send us through the windshield if we didn't have our seat belts on.

"Hurry up!" Andrea yelled at me as she held onto the small girl in her arms.

"I'm going as fast as I can! If you want to drive, please, go ahead!" I shouted back at her, turning the wheel as hard as I could onto the Greene Road.

I hit the gas as hard as I could, the force of the SUV speeding through the dirt road sent us back into our seats, the gravity getting heavier and heavier until I turned the corner and slammed on the brakes next to the RV, turning off the SUV and jumping out. I opened the door as quickly as I could and pulled Andrea and the little girl out.

"HERSCHEL! RICK!" I shouted as loud as I could, getting everyone's attention as they were sitting down and around the fire pit, eating whatever little Carol and Lori had made for dinner.

Rick jumped up and tossed his plate on the picnic table and ran over to towards me as I carried the little girl in my arm. Shane and Dixon followed Rick, their faces contorted with confusion as I carried the little girl and ran as fast as I could.

"Sophia!" Rick shouted, still fifty feet away from me as I ran up the steps of the porch and into the farm house, Herschel showing up at the last second and pulling me into the bedroom Carl had been in when he had first arrived on the farm.

"Lay her down on the bed." Herschel instructed and I followed them perfectly as I gently laid the girl on the bed.

I looked down at the girl and backed off, allowing Carol and Rick to get in and look at her. Her short brown hair stuck to her dirt-covered face; her dehydrated skin falling eerily on her body.

Carol mumbled something none of us could really hear and when Herschel and I looked at her, Rick stood up and rubbed his face.

"It's not her." Rick sighed and placed his hands on his hips before turning around and looking at me.

"What do you mean it's not her? Andrea said it was her!" I pointed at the little girl and looked at Rick with a hard look.

"She's wrong! This isn't my baby!" Carol cried out, running out of the room crying.

I sighed and followed her out, Dixon standing at the entrance of the room and watching me as I walked out. He grabbed a hold of my arm and stopped me, looking at me hard before I shook my head 'no', knowing exactly what he silently asked.

I walked out of the house and towards Hailey who waited patiently at the bottom of the stairs, Shane holding onto her shoulders.

"Is Sophia gonna be okay, Daddy?" Her voice wavered as she looked at me.

Shane patted her shoulders and knelt down next to her. "Hey, why don't you let your dad and I talk, hmm?" He gently pushed her away and as she walked back towards the rest of the group who stood and watched me, she kept her eyes on me, constantly questioning what had just happened.

I sat down on the porch and pulled out the last cigarette from my front shirt pocket. I lit it up and blew the smoke out, watching Shane as he leaned his arm against the thin white pillar that started the wrap-around porch. "It's not her."

Shane let out a deep sigh and looked down at the ground, this thoughts racing through his head and his face contorting in some weird emotions. "I wonder where she came from."

"Andrea and I searched a few houses out past the highway jam. Three of them just sat in a row, waiting for us, telling us 'hey, we have someone here'. The kid had a gun and I guess and she shot at Andrea. I ran up and the girl was in her arms."

"Why would the kid shoot at her?"

I shook my head and took another drag. "Maybe she thought Andrea was a Blank. I guess she was just trying to protect herself."

Shane nodded and pushed off the pillar and sat down next to me, motioning for the cigarette. I gave it to him and he took a big hit, holding the smoke in before letting it out through his nose and his mouth. "Did Andrea shoot her?"

"No, the girl must've passed out." I grabbed the cigarette back and took another hit, feeling the nicotine flowing through my bloodstream and calming down my shaking hands. "Sophia isn't alive, I know it. My kid is scared shitless after what happened yesterday and Glenn fucking tells us that Walkers are in the barn-"

"Walkers are in the barn?" Shane interrupted me and his eyes erupted in rage.

I nodded and threw the rest of the cigarette onto the ground, watching as it burned away.

Shane jumped up and ran inside, the sound of his boots hitting the wood floors fading away until yelling took over.

I got up and followed him, finding Rick, Herschel and Shane arguing with each other. Their yells deafening to anyone who walked into it and Rick looked at me with threatening eyes.

"Who told you about the Walkers in the barn?" Rick came at me, his fists grabbing a hold of my shirt as if he were somehow threatening.

"Glenn! He told Dale and me this morning!" I pushed him off and my stomach dropped as he looked at Herschel and the old man shook his head.

"Those are our people! They are infected and they will get better." Herschel looked at me and Shane shook his head before punching at the wall next to us.

"They're dead! We are not even fifty feet away from those things! They could break through that barn anytime and kill us!" Shane yelled at the old man, making Herschel step back in case Shane would've hit him.

"Shane! Calm down!' Rick yelled at him, putting his hand on his chest as if to keep him away from Herschel.

"You're telling me to calm down?! That's bullshit, Rick! We need to eliminate the threat before it eliminates us!" Shane shouted back, throwing Rick's hand away from him.

"I will not let my daughter be eaten by one of those things! What's stopping us from breaking open that fucking barn and putting every single one of them down?" I shouted at Rick, taking up for Shane.

"This is not our farm! We are guests here and Herschel has ensured us that the barn is secured!" Rick yelled at the two of us.

Shane and I looked at each other, realizing something in what Rick said.

"You knew about the Walkers in that barn?" Shane questioned, his voice lowering with anger as he stepped up to Rick.

"You knew that you were putting all of us in danger? You're putting your wife, your son and the rest of our group in danger! You can't fucking keep something like that from us!" I shouted at the ex-sheriff.

"What if they broke through? What if they killed all of us while we slept?" Shane shook his head and turned around. His body was shaking with anger and he breathed with heavy and hoarse noises.

"This is bullshit, Rick!" I walked out of the house and Shane followed.

"HEY!" Shane yelled at the group who were conversing with each other, Carol being held by Andrea and Lori. "I want to let ya'll know something!" Shane started, Rick running up to us.

"Shane! Stop!" Rick shouted, reaching the two of us as we stood in front of the group.

"No, Rick! I ain't stopping just because you want to keep everything here a diplomatic success! They need to know!" Shane turned away from Rick and back at the group.

"What's going on? What are you talking about?" Lori asked, leaving Carol's side as she stood up and walked towards Shane, Rick and I.

"I want everyone to know that when you're sleeping, comfy and secure like you think you are," Shane pointed towards the barn and everyone looked at the old and worn down gray barn. "That barn has been holding what we've been trying to run away from! That barn has been holding what we're terrified of and _Rick_ here has been keeping it a secret! He's known about the Walkers in that barn, _right over there_!" Shane ended, everyone's attention at the barn just a jog away.

Glenn stood up and grabbed everyone's attention. "Shane's right. I found out about it last night."

The group turned and looked at Glenn as he stood with a small amount of courage, his eyes constantly looking between the ground and the group in front of him.

"Rick, is this true?" Lori asked, walking up to Rick.

Rick stood there looking away from his wife. His eyes cast down at the ground and he turned to look at the farmhouse where Herschel, Maggie, Beth and Patricia stood watching the argument unfold. "It's not our farm. We're guests here; we can't just do anything we want here."

Lori looked shocked and her hand immediately went to her lower stomach, holding the unborn child she still hadn't told Rick about. "You kept this from me? From our son? Our son who was just shot!" Lori yelled, her eyes widening with fear.

The group started conversing amongst themselves, fear and anger breaking out slowly around the picnic area we all stood in.

"Daddy!" I turned and looked at Hailey as she ran up to me and I immediately picked her up and cradled her in my arms. "There are Blanks in the barn?" She was crying and her eyes burned red.

"I am done lettin' Herschel call the shots and I'm done with livin' next to a barn filled with those _things_!" Shane yelled and ran into the RV, coming back out with a bag of rifles and turning towards everyone. "If you're just as sick of this as I am, then fucking do somethin' about it!" Shane walked towards the barn with the bag in tow and I followed him with Hailey in tow.

"Here, let's end this shit." Shane caught Dixon walking up towards him and threw him a rifle, watching as the redneck cocked the weapon.

"Let's fuck shit up." Dixon smirked and walked with us.

As soon as we neared the barn, I set Hailey down and grabbed the black Mossberg 500, something similar to Shane's. I cocked the rifle and put her behind my legs. "You stand right here and you will always know that Daddy will protect you." I kissed the top of her head and listened as Shane started banging on the barn doors, rousing the Blanks to wake up.

"They won't get me?" Hailey looked up into my eyes and grabbed a hold of my pants. Her hands gripped onto the fabric.

"Baby," I knelt down and grabbed her shoulder, the rifle in my other hand. "I want you to look at me and trust in me that nothing will _ever_ happen to you. I want you to watch as I will never let any of these things touch you or come near you again."

I stood up and watched as Shane broke off the chain holding the two doors together. "Watch Daddy protect you." I said.

I heard the others run up behind us and then Andrea's golden hair appeared out of the corner of my left eye. I looked over to her as she raised her gun and took the safety off, cocking back the barrel and aiming at the snarling mass inside the barn.

Glenn and T-Dog had followed shortly behind her and grabbed a rifle and handgun from the bag. As we got into position, they slowly started coming out...

…

**Hailey**

"_What the fuck is this shit? Do you hear this, babe?" The woman with long blonde hair said as she knelled in front of the television. Her bright blue eyes hidden behind an angry scowl as she took another drag of her cigarette._

"_How the fuck am I 'spose to know, babe? I ain't no fuckin' scientist?" A man's voice came from the kitchen and held a beer bottle in his hand and a hand rolled cigarette in the other._

"_Don't fuckin' smoke that shit around the baby! She's too young to be around that! Fucking idiot." The blonde woman stood up and looked at the little girl who sat on the couch playing with a few Barbies her father had sent with her when she got her._

"_I can't believe that asshole wants Hailey. I mean, we're fuckin' great parents. Who does he think he is?" The man whispered to the woman who came up towards me._

"_He doesn't wanna pay that fucking child support. I mean seriously! Can you believe how much we're gonna get when we get her? $25,000 a month and ten thousand increase every year? We'll be getting $165,000 every month when she turns 18!" The woman giggled mischievously._

"_I can't fuckin' wait, babe." The man leaned down and kissed her passionately, putting the beer bottle and cigarette on the counter, taking the woman into his arms and tracing her back with lust._

"_Mommy? Richard? I'm hungry." Hailey looked up from her Barbies at the sight of her mother and Richard, the boyfriend._

"_Are you kidding me, Hailey? We ate just this morning!" The woman yelled at her, still holding onto Richard._

"_Emily, calm down. If she tells the child lawyer how you're acting, we won't win." Richard looked down at her before slipping out of her grasp._

"_You're right," Emily turned and looked at Hailey who was peering over the couch. "Alright, baby girl," Emily smiled at her daughter and walked over to the little girl, her hands grabbing her shoulders and pulling her into a hug. "What do you feel like eating? You can have anything you want?"_

_Emily's voice was sultry and Hailey didn't know whether to slunk out of her arms or shudder. "I wanted some pasta."_

"_You want pasta? Alright, baby, I'll call 4__th__ & Swift and we'll set some reservations." Emily pushed off of the girl and walked into the lavish kitchen in the three thousand dollar a month apartment. As she picked up her cell phone off the counter, Hailey grabbed onto the back of the couch and looked at her mother._

"_I don't like that place. It's nasty. Can you make some pasta like Daddy? Daddy cooks amazing pasta!" Hailey smiled at her mother and it disappeared as her mother looked at her with an evil stare._

"_Do I look like your father, Hailey? You're with me now, not your _father_. You eat what I give you, got it?" Emily stared down her child and watched as she hid behind the couch._

_Hailey began to cry and before she could really let it all out and scream, she grabbed her Barbies and ran into the room her mother had made for her._

_Hailey threw her Barbies down and slammed the door, turning the lock and running to the large plastic castle her mother set up in the corner of her room. "I don't wanna go! I want my Daddy!" Hailey screamed, holding her knees to her chest as she let all of her cries out._

_Banging resonated through-out her room as Richard shouted at Hailey from the other side. "OPEN THIS DOOR NOW! I'm gonna break this bitch open if you don't!" He screamed at the thick wooden door._

"_Leave me alone! I want my Daddy!"_

"_Richard! Come quick!" Emily screamed from the living room._

_Richard looked at the door before giving it a swift kick. "Once I'm done with your mother, I'm comin' back for you!" He yelled, walking into the living room and looking at his girlfriend sit down on the couch with a glazed look in her eyes._

"_What the fuck is wrong with you? Take some shit?" Richard looked around for any drugs Emily might've taken._

"_No, look." Emily pointed at the screen before turning up the volume to the television._

"_**My fellow Americans,**__" the news anchor started, the chaos erupting behind him and the people scrambling around were distracting for anyone watching. "__**As you may have now heard or seen, many people around the world are killing each other and the police are proving defenseless. The United States Armed Forces have stepped in in ten different cities in the United States to give those refugee during this strange new development.**_

"_**By now, you may have seen this,**__" the news anchor was panned out to show videos of these people shuffling around, killing people and not falling when getting shot by the police. "__**This is graphic and, though the producers do not want me to show these images, I want to show them anyways. This is dangerous and we advise all people to remain indoors and lock them. Do not go near these things, do not touch them and do not let them touch you. Stay inside and keep calm or go to the refugee centers in these designated cities,**__"_

_The news anchor listed off the cities and Atlanta was the fourth on the list. Emily looked to Richard who just stared at the violent and unreal images on the television screen._

_Emily stood up and walked to the window on the other side of the television and looked down at the new madness flooding the streets. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" She screamed, covering her mouth as she looked down in horror at the scene below her. Though they lived on the sixth floor of the 77 12__th__ apartments, Emily felt too scared to even be here._

"_What are you talking-" Richard closed his mouth as soon as he saw the massacre on the street below them. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" Richard screamed before falling down on the wood paneled flooring and pushed himself away from the windows._

"_That can't be here! That can't be here!" Emily cried out, her tears streaking her make-up. "Those things! Those can't be here!" She dropped to the floor and held herself, looking at Richard who looked up at her with fear-stricken eyes._

"_Let's get out of here!" Richard shouted, looking at Emily who just nodded and started to get up. Richard turned around and took off in a run to their master suite and grabbed three of their largest suitcases, packing one of them full of clothes and underwear._

_Emily was in the kitchen, searching their pantry for any kinds of food they could take. "Why the hell isn't there anything in here? Beans, nothing!" Emily stomped her feet and slammed the pantry closed. She ran to the knives and grabbed all she could and put them in her Coach purse._

_Emily looked over towards the hallway and ran into her bedroom, looking around for Richard who was ransacking the closet. "There's nothing to get in the pantry!" Emily stopped talking as soon as she heard a gun cocking. "Richard?"_

"_I've always been prepared whenever some asshole would come at me. I didn't know it would be that many." Richard placed the Beretta inside the belt of his pants and began pulling two more handguns from under the boxes of his closet._

"_Do you think we'll need those?" Emily questioned, watching Richard pack everything and shut the rest of the suitcases._

"_I don't know. But, I'm not waiting to find out." Richard grabbed the three suitcases and pushed Emily out of the way, running to the door and dropping the suitcases there._

"_I'm getting my purse." Emily said as she rushed to the kitchen, grabbing her purse and running towards the door. "Oh, my God! Hailey!"_

**BOOOOOM!**

_A great explosion shook the apartment building and the whole Georgia city._

"_WHAT WAS THAT?!" Emily screamed, dropping to the floor along with Richard._

"_They're blowing up the city! Look!" Richard had ran to the window next to the television and fires started erupting around the city._

"_How could they? We're still here! How could they do this?!" Emily shouted before running to Hailey's door and beating on it. "HAILEY! Open up now!"_

"_No! I want my daddy!" Hailey's screams were muffled by the big wooden door._

"_Hailey! This isn't the time to be throwing a fit! Hurry up and let's go!" Emily shouted again at her daughter, her fists hurting towards the point as if she felt they were going to break._

"_NO! I WANT MY DADDY!"_

_Emily stared at the door with an evil glare. Her body shook and she felt every single human emotion leave her. How dare this brat do this? How dare she tell her mother she wanted her father? That worthless piece of shit who tried fighting her for her daughter, even though all she wanted was revenge._

_Emily shook her head before punching the door. "FINE! If you want your stupid father so bad, fucking call him to come save you!"_

_Emily turned and ran back towards Richard who waited at the door with the suitcases._

"_Where is Hailey?" He questioned, looking at Emily who grabbed a bag of luggage and started out the front door, people running down the hallways trying not to bump into her._

"_If she wants her father so bad, let him come get her."_

_The door across the hallway and Ms. Baldric stepped outside to watch the commotion around her. She had been watching the news and heard the explosions outside. "Oh, Ms. Rivers, you take good care of Miss Hailey! Those things look dangerous."_

_Emily and Richard looked over at the old woman before turning away from her and running down the hallway with the last of the residents screaming and running out._

"_Oh, little Hailey is probably with Jason." Ms. Baldric turned back in her home before a soft scream started coming from Emily and Richard's apartment. Ms. Baldric turned away and closed her door, walking over to her phone and looking up the phone number Jason had given her if anything were to ever happen._

_As she dialed the 323 area code phone number. A few rings went on before the other line picked up and a voice she never thought she would hear, answered._

"_**Hello?**__"_

"_Jason? Jason Knight?"_

"_**Who is this? I'm busy right now.**__"_

"_Jason, this is Ms. Baldric from across the hall of Richard and Emily's apartment. Is Hailey with you?"_

_The other end of the line went silent and Ms. Baldric looked at her phone to make sure the call was still on. _

"_Jason?"_

"_**No. Where is she? Did she leave with them? Is everything okay?**__"_

"_Jason, they're destroying the city! The Army is here, explosions everywhere. I was sure she was with Emily and Richard but, they just left a few minutes ago! Hailey wasn't with them! I thought she was with you!" Ms. Baldric felt her heart drop and she realized that the small cry outside was from Hailey._

"_**Ms. Baldric, I'm sitting on my plane right now and I'm flying towards Atlanta any second now. Get Hailey and hold onto her! I'll be there in a few hours! Keep her safe!**__" Jason hung up the phone and Ms. Baldric sighed before hanging the small phone on the charger._

_Ms. Baldric ran over to her door and opened it, looking down the hallway for any of those things she had seen on the news. Without seeing any, she hurried across the street and into the open apartment of Emily and Richard._

_She looked around and saw the luxuriousness of the star's apartment. "Hailey? Honey?" Ms. Baldric looked around the apartment and into the bedrooms until she came to a door which looked like it had taken a beating._

"_Hailey? Are you in there?" Ms. Baldric tried opening the door but, it was still locked from before._

_The doorknob started turning and it unlocked from the inside. The door opened and revealed a disheveled Hailey who had worn red eyes and snot coming from her nose._

"_Hailey, honey!" Ms. Baldric knelt down and grabbed Hailey into a hug, carrying her in her arms and into the little girls' room. "Let's get you some clothes and some toys. You're staying with me until your father gets here."_

"_Daddy is coming to get me?"_

_Ms. Baldric bent down a tad and grabbed a small doll from Hailey's bed and a few dresses from a drawer in the little girls' dresser. "Oh yes. He just left Los Angeles and is on his way here right now."_

_Suddenly, a weird growling and snarling sound came from the living room._

_Ms. Baldric stopped moving and walked out of Hailey's bedroom with the little girl around her body. "Hello? Someone out there?" Ms. Baldric held onto Hailey a little tighter and walked out into the living room only to see one of those things from television stalk by the front door of the apartment._

"_Oh, gosh. Honey, don't look." Ms. Baldric covered Hailey's eyes and turned her away from the thing walking by, sniffing the air like a dog._

_Ms. Baldric sucked in a deep breath and trotted out to the door, looking around for another one of those things. As soon as she turned the corner to the hallway, the snarl sounded behind her and Hailey. "Oh no!" The old woman yelled, trying to shield herself with her arm before the rotting woman clamped onto the saggy and liver-spotted flesh of Ms. Baldric._

_The old woman screamed and felt the teeth sink into her, breaking the skin and letting the blood flow out and into the rotting creatures' mouth. Ms. Baldric screamed and pulled her arm away, the flesh ripping from her muscle and letting the blood soak the carpet underneath their feet._

"_Ahh!" Ms. Baldric ran into her apartment, slamming the door and putting Hailey down on the floor. "Y-You... You stay there, honey! Don't be scared!" Ms. Baldric screamed, locking the door and stumbling into her kitchen to run her arm under the water._

_The blood spilt around the apartment and created a crimson trail, ending at the kitchen sink with Ms. Baldric trying to stop the blood with her dish towels. "It'll be okay, honey... It'll be okay..."_

…

**Jason**

I held the rifle and pulled the trigger, the sound of everyone's guns going off drowning out any other noise around us. Hailey stayed at my legs, her hands clamping onto her ears but, her eyes on the Blanks that were pouring out of the barn. She needed to see this, to see that I can protect her and I have been for months.

I cocked the rifle again, aiming at another Blank that happened to have walked through the small opening in the barn doors.

Andrea pulled her trigger more than she needed to; she wasted her bullets on their chest and head instead of a clean straight shot. T-Dog and Glenn were doing the same, not hitting them in the head.

The Blanks started pouring out less and less and when the last one came out, Shane put a bullet in their head and they dropped like a heavy bag of potatoes, rotten potatoes.

I sighed and aimed my rifle down, looking over to Shane who had already been looking at me. Andrea kept her eyes on the barn and looked at all the Blanks that had come out and fallen to the five of us who were shooting. Dixon sighed and turned around before a growl sounded within the barn.

The whole group, Herschel and his family turned and looked at the barn. Beth and Maggie were crying; their friends and family had been in there. Herschel sat on his knees and looked at the massacre before him.

I brought my gun back up and so did everyone else. We waited for the last Blank to come out and tried peering into the darkness of the barn. Suddenly, a small blue shirt and beige slacks appeared from in between the slits and the growling seemed to get louder.

"Sophia?" Carol cried out from behind the firing line.

I lowered my weapon and turned around to see Carol covering her mouth and reaching out for her daughter.

"Sophia? Sophia!" Carol began running towards the Blank that had just appeared from the barn. She ran towards the little girl and Dixon dropped his rifle to catch her in his arms and comfort her.

I let a huge breath go and let the rifle fall out of my hands. The little girl couldn't have been more than a foot taller than Hailey and her reddish blonde hair was just a few shades darker than Hailey's. Those milky white eyes were nothing when you killed an adult but, on a child, seeing a Blank even her size with those large white and puss-coloured eyes made me wanna cry.

"Hailey," I turned and grabbed her, pulling into my chest and held the back of her head to my neck, feeling her hot breath on me.

Rick walked through the firing line with his pistol pulled and aimed at the head of Sophia. Carol's cries resonated through-out the farm, Lori held onto Carl and Maggie and Beth held onto Herschel. It was something no one ever wanted to feel. A little girl was caught and we all saw it. Our humanity was gone and our lives were still going. Sophia didn't deserve this and she didn't deserve that horrible ripped flesh from her shoulder either.

I held Hailey against me and closed my eyes, thanking whatever god was out there that my baby was still okay and that was when the sound of Rick's .44 Magnum pistol blew away a memory we can never get rid of.

* * *

**A/N: SO?! How did you enjoy it?! I still wanted Sophia's death in there because I just thought it was so emotional! But, who is this strange new girl they found? We'll see in the next chapter! I also hoped you enjoyed Hailey's little flashback which was pretty sad but, some of the things her mother had said were some of the things my mom had said to me. Parents divorce = great writing. Loved it, hate it or destroy it with a Kamehame Wave? REVIEW.  
****-Laania**


	10. Chapter Ten

_****_**Author's Note: Hey guys! How was your Christmas and New Year? Hope ya'll got everything that you wanted and I hope everything went better than mine. So, let's get to the gist of the deal: we have a new chapter, yay! I want to thank Izanagi God and Kayce Skywalker for reviewing. What happened to all my readers? Come on, guys! Let's get those reviews in! I know this chapter is shorter but, I feel as if ya'll don't like long ass chapters so, I'm gonna shorten them up a bit. Thanks guys and have a great day!**

**Disclosure: Blah, blah, blah... I don't own The Walking Dead... Blah, blah, blah...**

**Chapter Ten**

_**"Hailey," I turned and grabbed her, pulling into my chest and held the back of her head to my neck, feeling her hot breath on me.**_

_**Rick walked through the firing line with his pistol pulled and aimed at the head of Sophia. Carol's cries resonated through-out the farm, Lori held onto Carl and Maggie and Beth held onto Herschel. It was something no one ever wanted to feel. A little girl was caught and we all saw it. Our humanity was gone and our lives were still going. Sophia didn't deserve this and she didn't deserve that horrible ripped flesh from her shoulder either.**_

_**I held Hailey against me and closed my eyes, thanking whatever god was out there that my baby was still okay and that was when the sound of Rick's .44 Magnum pistol blew away a memory we can never get rid of.**_

…

I leaned against the white pillar of the porch, looking out over the farm and keeping an eye out for anything that could be considered out of normal.

I hand touched my shoulder and I turned my head to look at Andrea with two cups of whiskey in her hands. "Thought you could use a drink." She passed a cup off to me and I accepted it without hesitation.

"Thanks." I took a quick sip and felt the cool burn in my mouth before it flowed down my throat and the hotness of the whiskey sear. I let out a breath and looked over to Andrea who sat on a bench on the other side of the porch. I walked over to her and stood next to the porch bench.

"I still can't believe Sophia is gone." Andrea whispered as she sat forward and played with the glass in her hands.

I nodded and listened as the screen door of the house opened and closed. I turned and watched as Hailey, Beth and a recovering Amy walked to the chicken coop and began to collect the eggs before they could hatch. "It's a miracle we were able to save that little girls' life." I took another sip and watched as Hailey waved at me.

I waved back and smiled gently, watching as she grabbed Beth's shirt and tugged on it, pointing at something in the hay.

"Herschel said she isn't doing well. He said she could die any day now." Andrea looked at me through the corner of her eye and I nodded, understanding the hint of concern.

"Herschel told me that I need to keep Hailey away from being around her. He keeps telling me that Tuberculosis is easily transferable. Hailey had her TB shot back when she went to the doctors before this mess happened. In ten years, I'll start to worry."

"You don't think prolonged exposure will make you reconsider that Hailey may be at risk?" Andrea raised an eyebrow at me and her face was full of questions.

"Nope. If that kid only has a few more days to live, why shelter her away? We all know Amy is going to die but, she and Hailey don't know. I want to give that kid a few more good days." I looked over at Andrea and she scoffed before looking away.

"So, you'd rather risk your daughter's health for a girls' last few days?" Andrea stood up and brushed past me to go inside the house.

I sighed and leaned against the wall of the house, watching the three girls play with the chickens. I thought back to when Amy first woke up and she started fighting Herschel and Patricia from helping her. Shane and I ran in and held her down so Herschel could insert an I.V. tube in her arm to start to rehydrate her.

Poor girl screamed bloody murder and it felt like another scene with Carl without all the blood pooling around the girls' body. It was then when she coughed and blood sprayed all of our faces and she passed out. She was wheezing in her sleep, her lungs filled with some sort of mucus.

Herschel sighed and told us to leave.

That was all I remember before he came back out and told us she had an extreme case of Tuberculosis.

…

I walked over to the tree line behind the house with Hailey in tow for the funeral of Sophia, Annette and Herschel's step-son. Annette had been Beth's mother and when she was bitten, Herschel placed her in the barn, not understanding that she actually died.

It was a quiet service and Carol was nowhere to be found. I looked around and saw Dixon jump out of the RV and began to curse up a storm. I took Hailey with me to the RV, passing Dixon who only looked at me from the corner of his eye.

I let go of Hailey's hand and walked her up the steps, letting her walk in and sit across the table from Carol who sat with her back to the door.

"It's not safe to keep your back to the door." I said as I climbed in the RV, slowly walking up to Carol as she kept her watch out the window and out into the large fields of Herschel's farm.

Carol didn't say anything and I looked at Hailey with a shrug and a question in my eyes.

"Ms. Carol, I can be your daughter if you want." Hailey spoke up, her blue eyes on the woman in front of her.

"Hailey!" I whispered at her before shaking my head.

Carol chuckled a little before reaching across the table and taking Hailey's small hand in her own. "Thank you, Hailey."

I motioned for Hailey to come to me and I watched as she jumped off the small seat and walked towards me.

"Yes, Daddy?"

"Honey, Ms. Carol is feeling really sad right now; how about we talk about something different?" I knelt down and took her hands in mine. "Can you do that for me?"

Hailey sighed and looked down. "I was just trying to make her feel better." Hailey whispered, her blonde hair falling in front of her face.

"I know, honey but, let's filter what we say, okay?" I kissed the top of her head before standing up and walking past her to Carol.

I placed my hand on her shoulder and gripped the thin woman a bit, letting her know I was sorry for what had happened. Her cold hand grabbed onto mine and she gave a slight squeeze, telling me she understood. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm always here for you."

I let go of her shoulder and walked out of the RV with Hailey and watched from a distance the small funeral end and everyone scatter and go off to their next destination.

"Daddy, is Ms. Carol really sad about what had happened?" Hailey slipped her hand into mine and I looked down at her.

I sighed and nodded, keeping my eyes diverted from her. I didn't want to tell her anything that could upset her but, I wanted her to understand what had happened.

"Honey, do you remember when we first met Rick and his group?" I walked Hailey over to the picnic table so Carol couldn't hear much of the conversation.

"Yeah." She ran her fingers in the grooves of the wood, tracing the lines.

"Well, that was when she lost Sophia because Sophia wasn't paying attention and didn't do as she was told."

Hailey looked up at me with wide eyes and I knew I had scared her a tad.

"I'm not trying to scare you, baby but, Sophia was caught by the Blanks that I had hidden us from when we were laying against the hill. She didn't listen to her mom to stay hidden and quiet and when she got up, the Blanks found her and chased after her." I grabbed onto Hailey's hand and looked into her eyes.

"I need you to listen to me whenever I tell you to do something so nothing bad can ever happen to you."

"What about when I was in the car and those Blanks tried coming after me? You left me all alone!" Hailey whined, tears forming around the bottom of her eyes.

"And I was stupid for not telling you to hide better. That was my fault and I'm so sorry I let them even get that close to you. I love you with all of my heart and I couldn't imagine what Ms. Carol is going through with Sophia being gone. We thought she would have hidden around someplace safe but, she didn't.

"Everything I do and tell you to do or say is for the best. I do it to keep you safe and to teach you that this world will eventually get better but, with time. Until then, you have to listen to me. Do you understand?"

I watched as Hailey absorbed all the information, finally nodding after a few moments of soaking everything in.

"Good, now, go find Carl and see if he wants to play. Daddy has to go talk to Rick and Herschel about something." I stood up and kissed the top of Hailey's head before watching her walk off towards the barn where Carl was at.

I walked up the porch steps of the house and from the inside, yelling from a few of the women caught my attention. I opened the screen door and looked inside to see Andrea and Maggie grabbing onto a fallen Beth. "What happened?!" I yelled as I rushed in and helped the two women.

"She just fell! She's not responding and she won't wake up!" Maggie cried out, trying desperately to wake her younger sister up.

"Go find Herschel!" Andrea yelled at me.

I nodded and spun around, running up the stairs to the older man's room. "Herschel!" I yelled as I opened his door, looking around the empty bedroom. "Fuck." I ran back down the stairs and to the screen door, throwing it open and looking around.

Rick stood next to Lori and was talking to her before I ran over to him. "Rick! Where is Herschel? Beth just fell unconscious." I panted and looked between Lori and Rick, their heads turning in different directions to look for the older man.

"He wasn't in the house?" Rick grabbed me by my arm and started to make a run towards the barn and I kept up with him easily.

"No, he wasn't in his room, the bathroom doors were open, he's gone." I said as we ran up to Shane who was tossing the stiff bodies of the Blanks into the back of Dixon's truck, along with T-Dog and Glenn.

"Have any of y'all seen Herschel?" Rick asked everyone and when he got nothing in response, he turned and looked at me. "Are you sure you checked his room?"

I rolled my eyes and let out a long breath. "You want to go look for yourself?" I pointed to the farm house and Rick looked at me from the corner of his eye before jogging up to the farm house.

I heard Shane walking up towards me. "Herschel's vanished?"

"Yeah, Beth passed out and isn't waking up." I looked at Shane who just wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"That sucks, man. Here, come give me a hand loading these Walkers into the bed." Shane motioned for me to follow.

I kept my eyes on the house and watched as Rick emerged looking frazzled. "Herschel isn't there." I said aloud to no one, listening to Shane walk back up to me and stand to my left.

"Let Rick worry about Herschel. We gotta move these bodies or else the smell will stink up the place." Shane started turning me around before the both of us stopped to listen to Rick calling out for us.

"Jason, Shane!" Rick called out and we both walked up to the Sheriff coming down the hill towards us.

"What's up, man?" Shane asked Rick as the latter stopped in front of us.

"Herschel might have wondered into town, maybe to the bar there. I need y'all to come with me." Rick said as Shane and I looked between each other.

"I gotta get these Walkers cleaned up, Rick. I can't be off looking for someone who doesn't wanna be found." Shane leaned against the shovel he had.

I looked away from Shane and to Rick and shook my head.

"Jason, you know your way through town and you've been in that bar." Rick squinted in the sunlight and without his hat, he hair began to curl.

"Glenn knows that town better than I do. I'm not made out of steel and I certainly am not immortal. I've risked my ass plenty of times for the group but, Shane's right. If Herschel doesn't want to be found, we can't force him to come back." I tried reasoning with Rick.

I really didn't want to leave Hailey again by herself, especially now that Beth was out of it.

"You know, Jason, I thought you were vital to the group, possibly even someone I could count on. I see where your loyalties lie." Rick spat at me before walking over to Glenn and convincing him to go with him, for Maggie's sake.

Shane and I watched as Rick and Glenn drove away and off into town.

"Shit, you better watch your ass, man. Rick warned you hard." Shane laughed as he pulled the shovel from the ground and walked back over to the Blanks.

"I'm not worried about him. He can say all he wants, he's not the leader of the group." I walked over to a Blank and began to bend down and grab it's arms as Shane grabbed onto it's legs.

"You might not wanna say that to his face. He thinks he's the Alpha Male but, if it were my way, we'd already be at Fort Benning." Shane said with a grunt as we tossed the Blank into the back of the truck.

I chuckled a bit before wiping the sweat off my brow. "I don't want to be any kind of Alpha Male. I just want everything to go back to the way it was, before the outbreak occurred." I sighed and looked around the front of the barn and at the remaining rotten corpses.

"I don't believe that! You got those women wrapped around your finger." Shane motioned his head over to the women who sat at the picnic table and folded the clean laundry and sorted the dirty ones.

I smirked and looked at Shane. "I've got a plan."

…

**Andrea**

"Andrea, stop looking and wipe the drool from your chin." Lori smiled at me before returning to the clean blue shirt in her hands.

I sighed and looked away from Jason and Shane. "Ladies, I don't know about you but, it's the end of the world. Live a little." I grabbed a pair of blue jeans from the clean clothes bucket and started folding.

Carol whispered something to Lori and the two women sat there laughing about something.

"What? Tell me." I smiled at them before slamming the jeans down on the wooden table.

Carol looked at Lori who looked at me. "Carol said that if she were more open, she'd be walking around here in only a bikini and get some action."

"I did not say that!" Carol laughed and gently slapped Lori's shoulder. "Anyways, our legs are so hairy, we'd be walking around like lady Bigfoot."

All three of us laughed out loud and then we turned our attention back to the four men working at the barn. I began to look to Jason in a different light and that pissed me off to no end. He has already shown his emotions towards me; the kiss we shared was the worst kiss I had ever had. I've kissed many men and none have made me shut up and rethink everything I had done over the last few months.

"Oh, God! Look!" Carol giggled under her breath as she kept her eyes on Jason and Shane.

Jason and Shane started laughing right before they pulled off their sweaty t-shirts, revealing their tanned and muscular bodies underneath.

I gasped and began to laugh from the embarrassment. I looked at Lori who only shook her head and returned back to the laundry in front of her.

"What I would do to that man's body," Carol started, her eyes squinting as she bit her lip. She looked between Lori and me and I couldn't help myself from laughing.

"Lori," I smiled at her as she looked up from the laundry.

"Yes?" She kept her eyes focused on the boring clothes in front of her and not at the magnificent bodies one hundred feet away.

"You gotta admit, Shane has a great body. We're kinda jealous he picked you." I gave her a wink.

Her hands slammed down on the table before she stood up and looked directly at me, fire burning behind her eyes. "I don't know what you're insinuating but, I never slept with Shane. Rick is my _husband_." Lori stormed off into the house and the slam of the screen door closing was a sign that maybe, just maybe, I had pissed Lori off.

I looked over at Carol and she kept her eyes turned down to the laundry and didn't once look up at me. "Carol, you can honestly say that Shane and Lori had something going on, right?" I chuckled as the meek woman cleared her throat and placed the folded clean clothes in the bucket and walked into the RV. "Wow." That was all I had to mutter.

**Jason**

Shane and I looked on at what had just happened. All we wanted to do was put a show on for the ladies and suddenly, Lori stomped up the porch steps and slammed the screen door.

"I'm guessing Andrea opened her mouth and said something to Lori." Shane shook his head as he reached down to the ground and grabbed both of our sweaty t-shirts.

"What the fuck are you two faggots doing?" The southern drawl of Dixon broke us out of our conversation.

I looked down at my bare chest and the tattoo over my left pectoral muscle. Three claw marks separated the skin and showed the muscle underneath. I looked over at Shane and saw the cursive tattoo over his right pectoral spelling out 'Lil Bird".

"We're doing our mating call." I smirked at Dixon and winked at him, Shane laughing behind me as he pulled his shirt back on.

"God damn weird asses." Dixon mumbled under his breath before getting back into his truck and starting it back up again.

I laughed out loud as T-Dog walked up to us, his face holding a large smile. "Man, y'all are fuckin' crazy! I did see Andrea eyein' you, Jason." T-Dog flexed his eyebrows up and down.

"I'm only trying to lighten the mood, man. I'm not looking for any... sexual relations... with any one of them." I laughed as I pulled my shirt back on and walked over to the next rotten corpse Shane was already getting ready.

"That's what you say now. Man, what I wouldn't do for a nice woman, voluptuous hips, a big crock pot full of jambalaya just like my momma use to make, god damn." T-Dog closed his eyes and put his hand on his chest, dreaming of the day when the world will go back to normal.

I started laughing out loud and covered my eyes from the tears of laughter trying to escape. "Oh man! Please, hide the woody in your jeans, dude!"

The three of us laughed out loud and I could have sworn I heard Dixon laugh also.

…

I played Go Fish with Hailey and Amy at the picnic table in between the grove of trees and the RV. Dale sat on the top of the RV; his eyes carefully watching the horizon.

"Why aren't they back yet?" Lori cried out from the farm houses porch.

Carol held Lori as she was trying to fidget around, looking around for Rick.

I stood up and placed my cards face down, giving the evil eye to the two girls. "I know what's in my hand and if you try and change it, I'll get _angry_!" I smiled and grabbed Hailey giving her a kiss on the head and rubbing my hand through Amy's short brown hair.

I walked over to Lori who, when she saw me walking over, ran up to me with tears around the brim of her eyes. Her eyes were wide as she looked up at me and I grabbed onto her shoulders. "What's wrong?"

"Rick and the others aren't back yet. Something happened and we need to go get them!" Lori crossed her arms over her chest and looked away.

Shane came up next to me and lightly grabbed Lori's shoulder. "Lori, we can't be sending a brigade out there to go find them. He's alright, okay?" Shane tried calming and reassuring her.

Lori looked away from the two of us and I sighed. I rubbed the back of my neck and looked down to the ground. "Lori, Rick has more than likely gotten the others and is on his way back. Just give him a few more minutes." I gave a slight squeeze to her other shoulder and walked away with Shane to the side of the house.

"Rick still ain't back." Shane whispered to me before cupping his mouth and watching as Lori paced back and forth, her arms wrapped around her body.

"I know. It's been more than five hours, has to be." I looked up at Maggie who looked almost the exact same as Lori. The fear and worry in her eyes conveyed a very real emotion: love.

"If Rick ain't back before dark, we'll head out there and get him." Shane patted my shoulder and walked away.

I turned around and watched as the sun began to fall below the trees; it's orange shade giving everyone an ethereal glow. I looked back over to Lori and watched as she leaned against a tree, her boot tapping against the dirt as she went over every single scenario in her head. She was probably thinking something happened and that he needed help.

I sighed and turned towards the way Shane left, finding him was my goal. I ran up the steps and opened the screen door to the house, walking into the kitchen and finding him talking to Dixon about something.

"Hey," I said as I got closer to them.

Dixon just looked at me and shook his head. "What do you want, faggot?"

I shook my head and looked over at Shane. "I'm taking Lori into town to find Rick. She'll be safe with me and in about thirty minutes, it'll be dark."

"Jason, we can't go out there and lose you, too." Shane said as he put his hands on his hips and looked at Dixon.

"You aren't gonna lose me. And do you think Rick, Glenn and Herschel are all dead?" I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at Dixon.

"They ain't dead. They're just probably picking up a few supplies." Dixon replied back.

Shane nodded and looked up at me. "Alright, fine. Take Lori but, take a couple of guns also. I don't want to lose you or Lori."

"Well, ain't this a fuckin' love story." Dixon snickered, crossing his arms over his chest also.

"You jealous?" I smirked at him before nodding at Shane and heading outside, Lori still leaning against the tree.

I looked over at Hailey and the dying Amy. I smiled at my daughter and she gave me a look that she knew I was about to leave. She stood up from the picnic table and ran over to me, her arms wrapping around my legs.

"What's wrong, pumpkin?" I chuckled before trying to pull her up.

"Don't go, Daddy. I don't want anything to happen to you." She kept her hold on my legs and wouldn't let go. Not even my pulling could get her to let go.

"But, I have to go help Rick and the others. You want them to come back, don't you?" I rubbed her head and smiled down at her.

"I don't care about them. I care about you!" She started to cry against my legs and it was only then that she gave a little leverage and I was able to pull her up into my chest and coddle her.

"Sweetheart, Daddy will be perfectly fine. I promise you." I gave her a kiss and held onto her a few more moments before letting out a deep breath and putting her down.

She looked up at me before shaking her head and walking away towards the RV. I sighed and walked over to Lori, shaking her shoulder a little and smiled at her.

"Are you ready to go?" I smiled at her and her face lit up a bit before she nodded and wiped her tears away.

…

"I'm sorry about threatening you about the baby." Lori spoke up as soon as I turned onto the dirt road leading out of the farm.

I sighed and shook my head. "If it's Shane's, you have to let Rick know. He can't go on thinking it's his." I pushed the gas pedal down and we were off towards the town about ten minutes away.

"I haven't told him yet." Lori played with her hands and twiddled her thumbs together.

"What? What do you mean, you haven't told him yet?"

"I mean just that. I haven't told him. I don't even know if I want to keep it." She looked away from me and out the window.

The broken window on my side let in a nice hot breeze as I drove. "Then get rid of it, Lori, before it causes us all problems and puts us all in danger."

Lori gasped and looked over at me, her eyebrows dropped down over her eyes. "How dare you tell me that. Your daughter is always in danger and you never got rid of her!" She yelled at me, her hands gripping onto the leather seat she sat on.

"I've thought about it."

Lori looked at me as I kept my eyes on the road, my voice and demeanor calm. "What do you mean, you've thought about it?"

I looked over and her and shook my head. "I've thought about letting her go to a better place, a place that doesn't involve all of this shit. She doesn't deserve this kind of life, a life filled with constant fear, death around every corner and the dead walking around waiting to get you when you're not paying attention."

Lori turned to face forward, her eyes cast down at her swelling belly.

"Do you know how many nights I would contemplate giving her a quick and painless death? Do you know how I resisted the urge to place the gun against her head and give her a life better than this? You don't and you never will. Carl is an older boy who can already take care of himself if anything happens to you or Rick-"

"Don't ever say that." Lori interrupted me.

I looked over at her and shoo my head again. "I am going to say that because eventually, we all will die and our children will have to survive without us. Do you think you'll live forever? No, of course not. That's why we're preparing our children for what's to come, not for them to hope for something better, as if the military is somehow going to miraculously come save us.

"I'm teaching my daughter how to survive, how to keep herself alive as long as possible and you know what, it's not going the way I thought it would. When those Blanks broke this window and almost grabbed her the other day, I realized that she isn't ready for this world. She will never be ready and it kills me to think the only option is to put her out of her misery. Not because it'll be safer for her but, because I can't imagine watching my daughter turn into one of those things and coming back to eat me.

"She's my baby, Lori and I couldn't imagine the rage and pain of losing her." I ended my speech and kept my eyes on her, watching her reaction.

She looked up and out towards the road. Her eyes flashed with fear before she screamed and reached over towards me.

It felt like it happened so slowly yet, it probably took only a second.

Lori's hands grabbed the wheel and turned it down, twisting the tires to the right and into a huge ditch. The tires locked and something hit our windshield, cracking it and spraying the both of us with glass.

The large SUV took a dip down into the ditch and that's when it felt like there was no more gravity and everything flew up and into our faces. We jerked around and Lori screamed her head off, trying to pray ever so quickly to survive. I yelled out when I felt the roof of the SUV drop on top of us and then...

Everything went black.

* * *

**A/N: Holy hell! What happened?! Cliff hanger! Review and tell me how you loved it, hated it or wanted to throw it into a pond filled with piranha and leeches and watch it die. Love ya'll!  
****-Laania**


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Author's Note: I am so sorry, guys, that I have been gone for such a long time. I've been going through a lot with my life and I was actually in the middle of getting a divorce when I began writing this chapter. I know I haven't updated in a long time and I am so sorry. I hope ya'll can forgive me but, sometimes the personal life and reality decide to give you a reality check. I hope ya'll like this chapter because I really put a lot of emotion into it. Hope I don't make ya'll cry too much.**

**Disclosure: Blah, blah, blah... I don't own The Walking Dead... Blah, blah, blah...**

**Lori**

She had already crawled out of the overturned SUV and walked quickly down the road with her doe-like eyes still looking behind her at the SUV smoking in the ditch. The sun had already dropped well past the horizon, coating everything in the dark shade of night no one wanted to be in.

Lori held her arms and felt a small trickle of blood start coming down her right temple and slowly onto her cheek. Her arms and back were sore and she somehow woke up in the leg space of the passenger seat with her legs against the windshield and the back of her neck on the edge of the leather seat.

The growls and snarls of the Walkers were slowly coming through to her and when she woke up in her awkward position, she looked over at Jason who was against the roof of the SUV in such a horrible position, she knew he was dead.

Her breathing quickened as she looked at Jason's disfigured position. His right arm was somehow how twisted behind his back and his legs were flipped in opposite directions and it didn't even look like he was breathing.

But now, as Lori watched the Walkers try and fight their way inside of the overturned SUV to get to the still-fresh flesh of Jason, her heart dropped and she ran back, hoping that her footsteps were quiet enough to slip back into the SUV and grab her gun.

She sucked in a breath as she reached up to grab onto the foot rails of the Escalade and felt her ribs tighten against her skin. She pressed her foot against the undercarriage of the overturned SUV and climbed in through the broken passenger window.

She looked desperately for it as she maneuvered herself carefully through the interior of the wreckage, hoping to not cause much noise. She saw the gun right next to Jason's head and as she went to reach it, a Walker began to claw his way against the glass to get to the moving woman inside.

"Shit! God!" She screamed, her face filled with fear as the Walker kept ripping at the spider web cracks in the windshield, desperately wanting to sink its rotten teeth into her.

Lori reached quickly for the gun and once she felt the cold metal in her hand, she started back through the broken passenger window, her eyes never leaving Jason and the Walker trying to get at him.

"Jason? Jason!" Lori tried calling out, keeping her voice low even though she new it wasn't enough to wake someone.

Blood covered Jason's face like a waterfall drenches the rocks at the bottom of a cliff. His clothes were soaked in his own warm blood and she could slowly see the blood begin to seep into the cloth roof of the SUV.

"I'm sorry, Jason," Lori placed her hand against her mouth and began to climb out of the SUV; her thin and weak arms trying to support her as she pushed against the seat to get her out of the wreckage. She sat on the door for a moment to catch her breath but, she wasn't out of breath from fatigue; she was scared shitless that Jason was now dead and it was because of her.

The SUV could have easily killed the Walker but, for that one split second, Lori saw a human being along a road and felt the old part of her life, the normal part, come back. She didn't see the staggering and snarling Walker; she saw a young boy just crossing the street at the wrong time. It was her fault but, she couldn't think like that now. She can't think like that now. She is not responsible for Jason's death.

Lori's eyes immediately went to the two headlights headed her way; their brightness blinding her from having been in the darkness for such a long time. She sucked in a breath as the headlights died out and Shane's figure came out from the Tuscan he was driving now.

"Lori!" He yelled for her, his brown eyes searching the wreckage for her before they landed on her thin figure on top of the overturned SUV. "LORI!" He began to run over before watching a Walker walk out from the other side of the Escalade.

He aimed his shotgun and pulled the trigger; the shell casing flew off and fell in a small cloud of blue-tinted white smoke. Lori had jumped off the side and began to walk over to Shane, his arm already opened for her to walk in.

"Where is Jason?" He asked, his eyes never leaving the SUV.

Lori began to hyperventilate and with a breathy voice, her lips moved. "Dead."

…

**Hailey**

Hailey sat on the front porch of the Greene farmhouse with Carl right next to her. Amy was inside with a horrible fever and began to sweat profusely. Herschel didn't want her around the other children, knowing it would only be a couple more days before she finally passed.

Carl looked over at Hailey as she kept her eyes focused downwards. "So, how long have you and your dad been alone before y'all met us?"

Hailey shook her head. "I don't know. It felt like forever."

Carl nodded. "Had you even been with other people before us?"

Hailey shook her head again. "No. That bad man took our car away from us a long time ago. My Daddy would know how long it was."

"What bad man?" Carl now took interest. He remembered Shane telling him to get her to open up, make her smile. Carl felt that Hailey was now his responsibility since Beth was out cold and Amy was near death.

"He had no hand. He tried hurting my Daddy but, my Daddy gave him everything we had; even my clothes."

"A man with no hand? Did he hurt you?" Carl watched as she shook her head and looked out into the darkness of the trees and the fields even in the full moon light.

Hailey played with the pink dress that had once been Beth's and fingered with the rim of the dress; her heart began to pound when she saw a pair of headlights drive up the dirt road towards the white-washed farmhouse.

"Daddy?" Hailey asked, her blue eyes watching as the pair of headlights sped towards them.

"That's my Dad!" Carl shouted, jumping off the steps of the porch and ran until to the '90 red Chevy Suburban.

The truck immediately came to a stop and brought up a cloud of dust to shield everyone inside in a dusty reminder of apocalyptic days.

Three doors opened as soon as the vehicle came to a halt and Rick traveled around to the passenger backseat to open the door and begin to pull someone out.

Hailey's eyes widened as Rick, and now Glenn, began to pull out the limp body off of the backseat. The body began to scream as Rick and Glenn let gravity take over and let the legs fall to the ground; a horrible scream that Hailey had never heard before.

Suddenly, another set of headlights began to come up the dirt road and Hailey jumped from the steps, knowing that her father was back. She breathed a sigh of relief and then stopped as the green Tuscan came to a stop right behind the red Suburban.

Shane and Lori got out of the vehicle and when Shane walked and held onto Lori to help her walk up the stairs, blood was coming down the side of Lori's face and her hair looked like a matted mess.

Hailey turned back to the Tuscan and ran over to the doors, opening the back passenger door to see if her father was lying on the seat, waiting for Rick and Glenn to pull him out also. But, he wasn't there. Hailey shook her head and closed the door before opening it again.

She felt the hot sting of tears travel down her face and as her eyes widened at the sight of nothingness, she dropped on her bottom and began to scream just as the man Rick and Glenn had pulled out of the backseat of the Suburban.

She covered her ears and brought her knees up to her chest. She began to rock back and forth, Jason's face popping up in her head, telling her that he would be right back, that he would be okay, that Hailey had nothing to worry about but now, all Hailey could think was the word 'LIAR'. Jason, her father, had been there since Day One and now, it was Day Unknown and all she could think about was the fact that she was alone.

She watched as her vision somehow began to churn into different colours; as if a kaleidoscope was her brain turning over and over and over again as she desperately tried figuring out what was going on. She didn't feel the hands grab onto her and pick her up and slowly walk her away from the scene.

She didn't realize she was screaming either until she felt someone's breath on her neck, which made her scream even louder. She held her ears closed and her eyes were shut tight against the scene she last saw before her.

A hand placed itself on her back and rubbed up and down her back, trying to calm her as the person carried her and placed her down on the grass, their hands moving her greasy and tear-stained hair away from her face.

"Calm down, kid." The rough, Southern drawl of Daryl broke Hailey from her screaming and gave her an opportunity to find out where she was currently.

The rough patch of living area under a thicket of trees and by an old broken red-brick fireplace that once may have belonged to an old home that was once on the land, made Hailey calm down and stare at the redneck who searched through his leather bag on the side of his motorcycle.

He pulled something small out and threw it in her direction, the object landing at her feet. Hailey backed up a bit before looking down at it and reading the logo 'CRUNCH' on the blue wrapper. Hailey reached for it and then looked up at Daryl.

"Isn't this yours?" Hailey asked as she felt the chocolate calling her name from under the blue wrapper she had known so well so long ago. Her fingers felt the faint touch of the rice crispies at the bottom of the candy bar; her stomach growling, she realized she hadn't eaten since early in the morning like everyone else.

"Shuddup and eat it, kid." Daryl grunted out as he took a seat on a long log that was situated around a died out fire pit. He grabbed some paper, twigs, and some kindle before placing it in a neat pile in the center of the fire pit he made out of a circle of rocks. He struck the flint against the sharp metal and created a flash of spark, sending pieces of burning flint into the pile of fire-ready brush, waiting to ignite.

Hailey looked down at the Crunch bar and pulled open the blue wrapper and slowly pulled apart the wrapper down the middle of the candy bar. She broke off half and held it in her hands before walking over to Daryl and putting it in his face.

"Here," Hailey looked away from Daryl as her hand trembled slightly.

Daryl looked from the chocolate to Hailey and back again, his head shaking as he took the piece of chocolate and watched as Hailey walked back over to the spot he first left her in on an old short log. He took a small bite, conserving the rich milk chocolate as he tosses a few more twigs onto the fire to get it really going.

"You better eat that," Daryl watched as Hailey looked from the fire to the chocolate melting from the warmth of her fingertips.

"Oh, sorry." Hailey took a huge bite of the chocolate and put it in her other hand, licking off the melted chocolate that had dripped down her fingers. Her small mouth chewed with such ferocity that when she took the second bite, the rest of the Crunch bar was gone.

Daryl looked down at his piece and ate the rest, loving the taste of the scarce jewel that would have expired in his bag if he hadn't have given it to Hailey.

"I want my Daddy," Hailey whispered as she looked at the fire and played with the bottom of the dress again; the fabric dirty in her moist fingers.

Daryl didn't say a word; he knew that as soon as Lori and Shane arrived with Lori's face covered in her own blood, something happened that the little girl wouldn't understand. His blue eyes burned with the intensity of the growing fire in front of him and as he looked at the little girl, whose eyes were the same colour as his, he knew that she would be just as broken as he was now.

…

**Andrea**

She sat down on the patio with a full glass of bourbon in her hands. She glanced over at the small fire on the other side of the property where Daryl had taken Hailey; the little girls' crying had stopped for the moment but, it wouldn't be long until the rest of the camp heard her cry again.

She battled with herself on going over there and taking Hailey back and into the house or letting her stay with Daryl. The little girl would be just as safe as she would have been with Jason but, she couldn't help but shove the feeling of guilt out of her when she saw Lori come back with Shane.

Shane had given her a look that only made Andrea's heart break; the ex-deputy of King's County shook his head as he led Lori inside. Her breathing stopped as she stumbled back a bit before running into the side of the house where she walked in and almost immediately ran for the liquor in the cabinet of the kitchen and a glass resting on the counter tops.

And this is where she was now; sitting quietly on the bench she and Jason use to talk at with a single cup of bourbon filled to try and make the pain of losing Jason bearable. She filled the cup to the brim with bourbon, not only for herself but, for Jason who would have gladly taken part of the tasty and potent liquor.

She could just imagine him with his gorgeous green eyes that beamed with happiness and that perfect white smile of his. She could just imagine him in one of Shane's shirt and his light pair of blue jeans and black lace up boots leaning against the railing wrapping around the porch, a half a cup of bourbon in his hand and a cigarette in the other.

They would be bullshitting about the world and what they would be doing now if nothing had gone to hell. Andrea shook her head at the imagination she had and the fact that she could listen to Jason talking about still performing in movies and even guest starring on a television show. Andrea could see herself shaking her head as Jason would be boasting about how his career would be taking off and how nothing would a factor for Hailey. How he'd buy her all the best clothes, toys and anything her little heart desired.

Andrea imagined herself talking about her law career and how she would one day own her own law firm. She could imagine Jason laughing at her for wanting to protect the civil rights of others.

Andrea heard herself chuckled before she realized she was slammed back down into reality. She held onto her glass a little tighter and then brought the cup to her lips and let the liquor slide down her throat for a few seconds before pulling away, realizing more than half was gone.

She felt the immediate shot of dizziness and the cold throat burn before feeling something drop onto her forearm. She looked down and the small tear and began to slip off and blend into her dry skin. She grabbed her forehead and rubbed her temples with her finger and thumb, trying to calm herself down.

Who was Jason to her? A fling? A good fuck that could've been? He was nothing like Amy to her so, why did it kill her inside to accept that he was gone, dead? How could he have died? How could he just leave Hailey by herself?! That beautiful little four year old, alone, in a world filled with everything just wanting to sink its teeth into her.

She didn't realize she was crying until she heard herself sobbing.

…

**Jason**

It was like coming out of a dream; a painful dream as the smoke of the engine filled the inside interior of the once luxury (and overturned) SUV. The pain radiated through-out my neck and down into my legs.

I don't know what woke me up first; the fact that the smoke was getting into my lungs or the sound of Blanks snarling and circling the overturned SUV like vultures ready to pounce on their targeted prey. I tried unfolding myself from the contorted position I was in but, the sound of my hip popping back in place made me scream out in such pain I wanted to kill myself right then and there.

"Fuck!" I screamed before I moved my arm around and pushed my thigh down, the pain of my loose hip making me convulse in pain and jerk back and forth in pain. I looked behind me towards the back of the SUV and saw that the back glass was still intact and I tried pushing myself up with only my arm strength to move back there, hoping for enough space to pop my hip back in.

"Yeah, like that'll happen." I said a loud as I felt my heart begin to race as I pulled myself backwards through the space between the top of the seat and the roof. Since the Escalade was tipped over on it's side, I'm just glad the Blanks couldn't get through the side windows, especially the driver's window.

I cried out again in pain as my leg dropped off the seat and into the space between seats and the window. I tried standing with my left leg, hanging onto the seats for help before my head smacked into the still-intact passenger back window.

I groaned before rubbing the back of my head, the snarling and growling of the Blanks getting louder and louder as I focused on where I was and let myself get used to the fact that the SUV was overturned and that I was stranded like an idiot.

Lori.

I let out a yell as I realized she had been with me. I looked around and saw her no where. I looked through the windshield to see the rotting figures of the Blanks trying to break in and the sight of my own blood having pooled in the gravel that now became the driver's side window and watching the Blanks try and lick it up and try and get the one responsible for the delicacy.

Lori's body wasn't out in front of the SUV, thankfully but, that made me wonder if she had flown out. I hobbled a little before I was able to reach for the lever of the seat and lean it forwards, getting some room to poke my head out the broken window to see any body. Of course the Escalade was too high and I was stuck with a dislocated hip in the middle of an overturned piece of shit with Blanks crawling all around it, ready to rip me to pieces.

"God damn it!" I shouted, slamming my fist into the back of the passenger seat, realizing the only thing to get me out of this was to pop my hip back into place. I reached down and felt the space in between my socket and the joint almost perfectly, even being in jeans.

I winced as I pushed in on the open space, wanting to scream my lungs out from the pressure and the pain. The more blood that goes down into my leg, the more likely my leg won't heal and the shorter I have to fix it. I looked down at my left foot as it twisted in the broken glass against the gravel.

I looked to my right leg and shook my head. "Here goes nothing." I pulled myself up as high as I could and lifted my left leg up, letting my arms and hands suspend me in the air as I held onto the headrests of the parallel seats. I sucked in a deep breath and let go of the headrests, landing full force and one hundred and eighty pounds on the dislocated leg, feeling the joint slam back into place and my throat burn from the screaming.

I felt like I was dying from the burning pain and the white hot fire erupting from my hip. I cried like I had never cried before and I let all of my lungs do the screaming for at least a good five minutes before I sucked everything up and looked forward and at the cloth roof. I jumped on both legs, still feeling the burning pain but, the pain slowly diffusing as I continued to get the blood, muscles, and tendons working again like they were supposed it. I know that my hip isn't in place perfectly but, it'll let me get as far away from these Blanks quicker than having only one leg.

Now, how do I do that?

* * *

**A/N: Cliff hanger, much? Lol, I promise I won't be waiting another two months to update. Love ya'll.  
-Laania**


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Author's Note: It's not sad that I totally saw this being played out in my head, right? I just, for some reason or another, saw this chapter being an actual episode on The Walking Dead during season two if Jason and Hailey were real characters. There is just something about this chapter that made me go, "yes, do it". Um, yeah.. OH! So, since we're over this little speed bump, we'll be getting through with season two shortly (like, four or five chapters) and move on into season three! Hell yeah, mothafuckas! That's my black moment.  
I want to thank only Kayce Skywalker for the previous chapter. What the hell happened, people?! Where are those awesome reviews I love reading?! I love reviews because I want feedback from ya'll, which every writer should get but, sadly, doesn't. Totally miss you guys. *insert sad face here*  
Alright, let's get this shit started!**

**Chapter Twelve**

**Daryl**

Daryl sat with his back against the long log he had in his camp; his blue eyes watched as the fire burned down to small embers and followed the small embers burn out. It was probably four in the morning and Hailey had fallen asleep in his tent. Her small body took up only a small percentage of the space inside the pop-up tent but, he wanted to stay outside and watch her from a distance.

He knew the pain of losing a parent and he knew the long process it would take to get over losing the only person in life that would ever give a damn about you. His mind immediately went to his mother and the smell she wore every time she would hug him or give him a kiss. The way she would drive around the old 70's Ford Pinto that would break down almost every week that his father and Merle would work on together.

He sighed when he heard Hailey rustling in the tent and the soft cries coming from the little girls' body. He shook his head as he looked down at the crossbow next to him and the two remaining arrows left. Rick had ignored almost everyone as he and Shane put the 'prisoner' in the old tool shed behind the barn.

He would interrogate him in the morning while everyone was getting ready for the new day but now, he was taking care of someone who really needed it. It seemed like everyone had forgotten about Hailey and focused solely on the boy that was tied up in the tool shed.

A hard breeze of cold air blew through the Georgia farm, making Daryl flinch and let the goose bumps rise on his arms and shoulders. He looked over and grabbed his jacket from off the log. He stood up and pulled it on with a hard tug, feeling the cold leather freeze his bare arms underneath the jacket.

He heard a few footsteps ahead of him and watched as Andrea walked over with an almost empty bottle of the whiskey Jason and Hailey had gotten from the bar in the town ten miles away from them. Andrea staggered over towards him with her silver handgun tucked into the belt of her jeans; Daryl sneered at her before grabbing his crossbow and headed into the brush behind him.

"Daryl! Wait!" Andrea shouted for him and watched as he stopped but, never turned around to look at her. He couldn't forgive the woman for shooting him but, she definitely was a good shot.

"What?" Daryl said roughly, his head turned a little so that he could see her lean against the tree while the bottle of whiskey was pulled to her lips and he could hear her chugging it down.

With a gasp, she pulled the bottle away and wiped at her mouth, taking the excess whiskey away from her face and looked over at Daryl's tent. "Is she asleep?"

Daryl looked away from Andrea and at the tent Hailey was in. "Yeah."

"I still can't believe he's really gone. Lori said that the way his body was in looked horrible." Andrea looked away from the tent with a sigh and shook her head. She grabbed at her face with her free hand and took in a few deep breaths, keeping herself from crying even more tonight.

Daryl looked away and walked into the brush and woods, disappearing from Andrea's sight. He didn't want to hear anyone else's bullshit tonight. The new 'prisoner' needed to be interrogated in the morning and it was only a few hours left of darkness before the sun would rise above the treeline.

He and Jason may not have been friends or close or anything resembling that but, he respected him for taking care of his kid the way she needed. If she were getting too big for the clothes she wore, he would get her new ones. If her feet were getting too big for the shoes she was wearing, he would get her new ones. He respected him for keeping her safe for so long by himself.

**Jason**

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" I pulled myself up and out of the Escalade; the two Blanks outside having broken the windshield and were now starting to crawl into the overturned SUV.

I looked around outside and saw only two more Blanks on the outside of the SUV versus the two that had gotten inside. I grabbed onto my left hip and felt my knife still there. I smiled as I pulled it out and waited for the unsuspecting Blank to come at me with its arms raised and its teeth chomping angrily at the air.

"Come on, mother fucker!" I shouted, shifting over a little on the side of the Escalade and as soon as the Blank was close enough to drive the blade in, I did. I drove it in hard and felt the skull cracking from the force I drove that long blade in.

The Blank suddenly stopped moving and fighting for food when I drove it in, knowing it was completely dead and I didn't have to do any more. I pulled the knife out with a hard tug, feeling the blood lubricate the warm metal and letting it slip out of the wound from the top of its head.

It dropped and the other one next to it didn't even care what had just happened. I reeled back and drove the knife into the eye socket of the other Blank. The black and putrid blood squirted at me and it didn't help that my knife was stuck within its skull as I tried pulling it out. I sat down on my ass and put my boot against the other side of its face, pulling the knife out quicker than expected and sending me rolling backwards and flying off the other side of the SUV.

I coughed a few times before crying out in anger. I grabbed onto the back of my head and rubbed the newly forming bump and the pavement and tried my best to roll over and push myself up to start walking away. My head spun and throbbed with so much pain, I thought I had dislocated that also. I felt like laughing but, all I wanted to do was scream and cry out of the most unrequited anger.

I held onto the bloody knife as I limped down the road; my heart beating out of my chest and though I clutched onto the blood-covered shirt, it did nothing to slow it down. I shook my head to get the dizziness of the blood-loss away from me. I hadn't been walking more than fifteen minutes before I had to sit down on the pavement, the small and unforgiving rocks digging into my palms.

I coughed hard and felt blood come up; I spit it out over my shoulder and looked down. I was losing blood everywhere and walking down the road and leaving a trail wasn't helping either. It had been better than being stuck in that SUV. I rubbed my forehead as I thought about Lori.

"Where are you?" I sighed, closing my eyes before listening to the rustling within the trees over-hanging the road and the tall grass that could easily hide a person.

I pushed myself up from my left side, my right leg too damaged to do anything but limp home. I grunted a little before getting up all the way and dusting my hands of the gravel stuck inside the hard skin. I continued walking down the road and hoped someone was coming to look for me soon.

**Shane**

"Rick, we need to go get Jason's body at least for a funeral, man. We can't just leave one of our guys out there without giving him a proper burial." Shane whispered at Rick from across the small campfire outside their tents.

Rick looked away from his old partner and rubbed his forehead. "I don't know if we can spare the time right now."

"What the hell do you mean "time"? That's all we got, Rick!" Shane slapped his hand across his leg in anger and clamped his teeth on his bottom lip. His brown eyes couldn't leave the sight of Rick as he began to stand up and walk towards the farm house.

Shane shook his head and clasped his hands over his face. As he pulled down and let out a long sigh, he heard Rick walking back.

"Jason is one of us, you're right but, if Lori said he was dead and the Walkers were getting to him, we can't risk bring that back here for a burial." Rick placed his hands on his hips before looking at his tent and imagining Lori and Carl already asleep and hopefully sleeping peacefully. "We give him a service. We'll do that first thing in the morning."

"Rick, we gotta go find him!" Shane shouted, jumping up to defend his friend.

"That's enough, Shane. It's final; he died and we can't locate the body. Understand?" Rick walked over to Shane and placed his hand on his shoulder before giving it a tight squeeze. "I'm sorry Jason is dead and I know he was your friend but, think about the group's safety before doing anything." Rick patted Shane's shoulder before walking over to his tent and went inside, zipping up the front.

Shane sighed and sat back down in the lawn chair, his hand rubbing his mouth and cheeks, calming himself down. Jason had been a great asset to the group. Leaving Hailey behind, his daughter he strived to do so much for, broke Shane's heart or whatever was left of it.

Shane shook his head again before walking over to his tent and getting inside, zipping up the front and dropping to the sleeping bag in one fail swoop. He placed his arms behind his head and looked up at the tent cover, thinking about how Hailey would react to the news about her father.

Daryl had been taking care of her since Rick, Glenn and Herschel got back but, it didn't matter if he watched over her; she needed to know her father was never coming back and that that one thing will break her heart forever.

Suddenly, rustling came from the outside of Shane's tent. Shane immediately popped up and grabbed his pistol, cocking it and then slowly unzipping the front. It was when Hailey's tear-stained face came into view that Shane calmed down and he released the trigger of his gun.

"Hailey, what are you doing walking outside at night? That's dangerous." Shane opened the tent all the way for her and began to stand up to go outside before he was pushed back in by Hailey passing him and sitting down on his sleeping blanket.

"I was looking for my Daddy." She said with a somber tone and looked up at Shane with her big blue eyes.

"Honey, I-" Shane rubbed his head before sitting on the opposite side of Hailey, looking her dead in the eye. He crossed his legs in front of his and looked like a kid. Though he knew what he wanted to say, he didn't know if he had the gall to say it; if he said it, this little girl's life would be over and her heart would break into more pieces than anyone could pick up.

"Is my Daddy dead?" Hailey began to cry, her eyes overflowing with tears. Those tears fell quickly down her cheeks and wouldn't stop.

Shane sighed and looked away from Hailey, not knowing how to tell her that her father was never coming back.

"Because I think he is. Lori came back and Daddy didn't. He promised me! He promised he was coming back!" Hailey began to scream and cry even harder, her hands clasping over her ears as if to mute the screams coming from her lips.

Shane immediately grabbed Hailey and pulled her into his chest, wrapping her in his arms and cooing her to hush. He felt her shaking within his arms and couldn't do anything but rock her back and forth and comfort her.

Shane knew she knew and she didn't need to be told that he was gone. She had already figured it out when Daryl had taken her, when Andrea began crying her eyes out and when Lori came out of his Tuscan covered in blood. Shane knew that only saying it out loud would just kill Hailey, and though he didn't know how to tell her that everything was going to be okay, he knew that he needed to be strong for her.

Jason was gone now and this little girl needed someone in her life to give her the same love her father gave to her. Shane held Hailey through out the night and into the morning, falling asleep with her in his arms.

**Jason**

I limped all the way from the SUV to the very front of the street where Herschel's farm was; took me all of five hours. I shook my head and finally rested at the mailbox with the name 'GREENE' painted in white on the side of the black metal and dented box.

I took a few deep breaths before closing my eyes and relaxing against the wooden post. I relaxed my legs and felt my right hip immediately burst into another round of pain. I sighed before opening my eyes, rubbing my nose and pushing myself up.

"Come on, dumb ass. You have like, ten minutes until you get to the house and a hot shower waiting for you and a bed because I know Herschel will let you sleep inside for a few days and not to mention Carol's cooking. God damn it, come on!" I shouted at myself, feeling the morning sun on my back slowly heating me up.

The Fall was coming up on all of us and this morning was one of those days where the night was cold and the sun made you feel like you were coming alive. I limped up the driveway and only had Hailey in my mind; all the other useless necessities left lie they were glitter in a huge gust. They may be calling you to look at them but, focusing solely on Hailey was my number one priority.

**Andrea**

"Jason was a good man," Rick started off, letting everyone settle into a stance as he looked around for those to give him the signal to start.

I wiped my eyes from the tears that were trying to escape and watched as Hailey clung to Shane's leg and cried her eyes out. She didn't care who was watching her or what anyone else was thinking; she just cried and let her heart do all the talking for her.

Rick looked over at me and I looked away from him and down at the little rock grave we made for him. There weren't many rocks but, it was enough to see from the porch of the farm house where I knew I would be always keeping an eye out for it.

"Jason took care of his daughter, Hailey, with every fiber of his being, not caring about himself, only providing for her and making sure she was okay and safe." Rick continued, trying to give the eulogy as best as he could to a man he really didn't get along with.

I could always see it in his eyes that he never got a long with him. He may have in the beginning but, Jason had been outspoken and gave his opinion even though it may not have been wanted. I loved that about him; he didn't care who you were, he was going to tell you how it was and how it was going to go down.

"We may not have known him very long but, Jason was one of the strongest and most-supportive out of the group. If you had a problem, you could always go to him. If you needed a bottle of whiskey from the bar in town, he would bring back a case and more."

The group chuckled somberly whole remembering when Jason walked out with that huge case of whiskey, wine, vodka and anything else he could have grabbed.

I didn't though. It pained me knowing I drank the rest of the whiskey last night, the same whiskey he brought with him. I couldn't get him out of my head, I couldn't get his laugh to stop ringing in my ears in that ghostly way I hate so much.

I felt a few tears drop from my eyes before looking over at Rick. He cleared out his throat and held his hand open and to his side. "Hailey wanted to say a few words about her father this morning." Rick watched as Shane grabbed the little girl and walked her over to where Rick was standing.

Her face was completely red and covered in tears. Her hair stuck to her face and as her little hands tried pulling it away, she shook her head and fell down on the grass with her knees. "I want you back, Daddy. I wish you would come back! You promised me you wouldn't leave!"

Lori held onto Carl and I watched as a few tears fell from her eyes. I looked around at everyone and most everyone was crying, save for Daryl who only kept his eyes downwards until Hailey began to try and talk. He slouched a bit and I knew, that even though his exterior was tough, Hailey was breaking his heart and everyone else's heart along with his.

Herschel held onto a sobbing Beth, T-Dog wiped at his eyes and blinked quickly to hold the tears back, Dale held his cap in his hands and wiped at his eyes with the brim of the old fishing cap. If Rick's words weren't heart breaking enough, Hailey drove in the final nail.

"Daddy, I... I made this... for you this morning." A sobbing Hailey whispered as she pulled out a letter from her front pocket of the new overalls Beth had given her. She unfolded it as best as she could and tried straightening it with all her might against her chest, her vision blurry from her tears.

"Daddy, I want you to know-"

"WALKER!" Patricia screamed, her hands covering her mouth as she ran over to Herschel.

I shook my head and immediately grabbed for my pistol. I looked around for anyone else to get ready. It was a lone Walker that had walked up the dirt driveway and the way it limped towards us, made me cringe. It's body looked so familiar and I swore I could have seen Jason walking towards us.

"Daddy? Daddy!" Hailey shouted, taking off in a complete sprint towards the Walker.

"Hailey, no!" I shouted, running after her, Shane, Daryl and Rick already running after the little girl who still held the lead.

Hailey's blonde hair whipped violently in the air and Shane still hadn't caught up to her yet. We kept running after her, not wanting her to run to the first person she sees and becoming delusional. We knew her father was on her mind but, this needed to be stopped.

"Hailey, quit running!" Shane screamed at her, her feet quickly hitting the ground and kicking up a tiny little dirt cloud behind her as she ran down the hill towards the Walker that seemed to have picked up speed.

"Hailey!" Daryl screamed for her, holding onto his crossbow.

"Stop her!" Rick shouted before pushing himself and getting ahead of Shane, almost grabbing onto Hailey and pulling her back, only to be short a few inches.

Suddenly, the Walker dropped to it's knees and held it's arms open.

The four of us immediately stopped and watched as Hailey ran straight into the arms of her father.

"He's alive."

**Jason**

I couldn't help but cry as I saw Hailey immediately start running towards me from the group that stood in a circle by the side of the farm house. I tried walking as fast as I could, my hip burning and on fire as I walked up the small hill of Herschel's farm.

Suddenly, Shane, Rick, Daryl and Andrea chased after Hailey and trying their best to keep up with her. Hailey's little feet hit the ground as hard as they could and she pushed off with all her might trying to get to me.

I let the tears fall down my face as Hailey kept her pace for me, running her hardest.

Shane yelled something but, I couldn't hear it. Then, Daryl and then Rick. Rick's was the most clear out of all of them.

"Stop her!" He shouted and as soon as I heard that, something clicked in my brain. Why did he want to stop Hailey from getting to me? Why did he want to stop my daughter?

I dropped to my knees as soon as Hailey was close enough and opened my arms for her, letting her body crash into me and send us flying backwards. I held onto her the whole time and heard her screaming into my ear all the sadness she had.

"I'm here, baby. I'm right here. I promised I was coming back." I cried into her hair, my tears mixing with the dried blood made it stain again and as I nuzzled into her hair, the blood smeared onto her blonde locks.

Hailey couldn't reply anything and just continued to cry. I pushed us up and stood up with my good leg, hobbling over to the four people who chased after Hailey and only watched with shocked looks.

I walked over towards them and they looked as if they were watching a nightmare come to life, a zombie apocalypse happen right before their eyes.

"Why does everyone look like shit?" I smiled and watched as Shane came up to me. I extended my hand out and he clasped his in mine and we embraced in a tight hug, even with Hailey in between us.

"We thought you were dead, man." Shane shook his head, his brown eyes searching for something in my eyes.

"I don't die that easy." I chuckled and placed Hailey down, letting her take a few deep breaths and calm down.

I looked over at Daryl and smirked. "We're just two men who can't seem to be killed, huh?" I watched him as he returned the half-cocked smile and nodded, acknowledging me in a good way for the first time.

"Jason, we thought you were dead. How did you survive? Lori said she saw you dead in the SUV." Rick asked, walking up to me and inspecting me.

"Shit, I just got the best nap since this shit's started." I laughed and watched as the rest of the group made their way down the hill slowly, watching everything happen from a distance. "What were you doing up there? Having a burial for me?" I laughed out loud before Hailey began to cry again.

I knelt down and pulled her into me. "Hey, sweetheart, it was only a joke. Come on, it's okay." I smiled and took her face in my hands, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"That's what we were doing." Rick continued, his hands on his hips as he looked down at me.

I stood up and scrunched my eyebrows together. "Well, I understand. You all thought I was dead." I nodded and placed my hands on my hips, looking away from Rick.

"It's good to have you back, though, man." Rick smiled and pulled me into a hug and I returned it without a fight.

"It's good to _be_ back!" I smiled and then looked at Andrea who only stood there with her hand against her mouth. I smiled at her before rubbing my hand through my hair. "Now, I know you're not going to say you weren't sad that I was gone, huh?"

I closed my eyes and laughed again, only to feel Andrea's body slam into mine, her lips pressed against my own lips and her arms wrapped around my neck. I opened my eyes immediately and then fell into her kiss, returning it back with a passion I tried hiding for so long from her. I held her body in my arms, letting my tongue dance with hers in a dance that was only for us.

"Get a room, y'all nasty asses." Daryl grunted as he began to walk away but, all I could do was graciously flip him off.

Andrea pulled away and slapped me across the face, stunning everyone who had now just gotten to me. "Don't you ever go off like that again! You stupid, idiotic, mindless... Dim-witted..."

I pressed my lips against Andrea's again, feeling the cooling rush of her freshly brushed teeth. I pulled away a bit just to get a look at her. "Shut up." I smiled and kissed her again.


End file.
